Spending time running at the threshold and above develops your ability to clear lactic acid qwikly. It also provides a good hard training stimulus in the final couple of weeks prior to a major race. This is a perfect session for runners and triathletes competing in 5km events.
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.
This workout comes from an article by Laurel Leicht in the 2023 Issue 3 of Runner’s World.
Runner’s World 5km Threshold Miles
- 10min WU Level II;
- 3-4x 1mile Level IV-V, 3min Level I-II;
- 10min CD Level II;
- 10min Stretching
Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) for ten minutes of easy jogging at Level II.
The Main Set involves running three or four reps of 1 mile. Start by running these reps at Level IV, ten to fifteen seconds per mile slower than your goal 5km race pace. Take a three minute Rest Interval (RI) by walking or very, light jogging for three minutes (Level I-II) after each rep. For the final rep, aim to run it at your goal 5km race pace.
The Cool Down (CD) is at a low intensity, jogging (Level II) for at least ten minutes.
Finish with 10 minutes of stretching to assist with the recovery.
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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6 weeks of training is all you need to do to smash your current 5km time significantly. On the average following, in this programme runners improve by 2 minutes and 51 seconds (7.5%) in the first month.
Some people have improved by more than 5 minutes following this programme!!!
Designed for Runners of ALL abilities who are wanting to run a 5km qwiker, the primary goal of this training plan is to make you FASTER. Chose the programme based on your ability. This programme is for runners that are comfortable running for greater than 60 minutes and want two run sessions per week.
Lasting 6 weeks long this programme can start anytime. Each week includes 3 runs and a stretching session. Although not essential, I recommend using a heart rate monitor in conjunction with a GPS watch (such as a Garmin).
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Prior to using this plan, you should be able to run for greater than 60 minutes.
Purchase of this plan gives you access to my fortnightly coaching calls where you can ask me any training or racing-related questions.
When purchasing, use the discount code “web25” to claim your 25% discount.