Running half-mile reps not only gives you the physiological benefit of enhancing your VO2 Max, but it can also be a great way of predicting your 5km pace. This is a perfect session for runners and triathletes running events between 5km & 10km.
Each week I will be posting the Friday Fartlek Run Sessions that you can do to enhance your running. Fartlek is a Swedish term that is often used by runners and it means speed-play. See a previous post about training intensity (levels) to know how hard to work.
The inspiration for this post came from an article on Runner’s World that describes this as a great workout to predict your 5km time (more about that after the workout). Read the original article here.
5k Predictor II
- 10min WU Level II;
- 3x 60sec Level IV, 30sec Level II RI,
- 4x 800m Level V, 5min Level I RI;
- 10min CD Level II;
- 10min Stretching
Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) of ten minutes of easy jogging at Level II. To elevate your Heart Rate (HR) and prepare your body for the effort that will come, you will run at Level IV for one minute, then take a 30-second Rest Interval (RI) jogging at Level II, completing three reps before moving into the main body.
The Main Set involves running four, 800-metre reps at your goal race pace (and adjusting your pace as needed over the remaining reps), with a five-minute walk between reps at Level I as your Rest Interval (RI).
The Cool Down (CD) is at a low intensity, jogging (Level II) for a minimum of ten minutes.
Finish with 10 minutes of stretching to assist with the recovery.
Take the average pace of your reps, to get the average pace to run your 5km at.
If you would like further advice feel free to contact me.
I am the Head Coach & Director of Qwik Kiwi – Endurance Sports Consultant.
I specialise in assisting first-timers and recreational athletes to achieve their sporting goals. I can be contacted at coachray@coachray.nz and 021 348 729.
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Download the Garmin (.FIT) files for this workout for FREE
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Prior to using this plan, you should be able to run for greater than 60 minutes.
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If you enjoyed this workout, here is a similar session I published.
With COVID-19 putting us here in NZ into lockdown (but still able to exercise in our local neighbourhood) and events cancelled, my race plans have been put into disarray. For the next four weeks, I’m focusing on improving my 5km time. Monday will see me running a 5km and then 28 days of focused training.
Previously over a 4 week period I and an athlete I coach have just taken over 2 minutes each off our 5km times. Jamie has dropped nearly 3 minutes from 25:36 to 22:37 (12% improvement) and I have taken my 5km time from 23:20 to 21:09 (9% improvement). I’ve put together a package that will help runners of all abilities, run a faster 5km.
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- It was raining…..
- It was windy…..
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