Want a Sub-22 min for 5K

by Gabrielle
(Portsmouth, UK)

I'd like to get a sub 22 min for 5km. I'm a 33-year-old female, pretty active, I've been a runner for about 10 years as a way to keep fit. I run 25-30 miles on and off road. Plus I cycle 50 miles every week.

My best 5km is 22:13 but can't seem to better it at the moment. I do a mixture of distances, from 800m reps (I do between 3-6 at the moment) to 10 miles steady runs.

Currently training for a half marathon in 3 months. But I really would like a sub-22 minutes for a 5km, if not sub-21.

Answer by Dominique:
Hi there,
Thanks for your question about getting to sub-22 on the 5k.

You are close. No question in my mind you can get there eventually.

My thoughts on this are:

1. The difficulty of chasing two goals at once
2. Half marathon training
3. 5k training
4. More running, less cycling?

The Difficulty of Chasing Two Goals at Once

It's only 13 seconds you need. But you note you are training for a half marathon at the moment.

It will be a bit hard chasing two goals at once.

The focus in half marathon running training is more on long runs, easy runs, steady state runs and tempo runs.

For 5k running training all of those are important too, but the focus shifts towards more speedwork.

So, first of all, it is probably good to make a decision: will you start chasing your 5k goal now, or do you train for your half marathon?

My suggestion would be that you continue training for the half marathon at the moment. The half marathon training will help build your endurance. And there is nothing wrong with building a bigger engine. You might find your 5k time dropping already, just off the back of solid half marathon training.

Half Marathon Training

Your running training sounds reasonably varied. I'd make sure that you get plenty of tempo running and long runs in over the next three months.

For a first half marathon, hitting 11 miles in your long run is a good level to aim for. Given you are already at 10 miles with three months of training left, don't be afraid to push it a little further. The half marathon is a great distance as you can make sure that you cover the race distance and more in your long runs, an excellent confidence-booster.

In the last two months of your half marathon preparation, I'd reduce the amount of pure interval running you do in favour of goal pace workouts and tempo runs. The closer you get to your half marathon, the more specific you want your running training to be. So, you want sufficient workouts at or around half marathon pace. Some a little faster, some at goal pace, some a little slower.

Also check out the Half Marathon Training Section for more half marathon training tips.

5k Training

When training for your 5k, the basics remain mostly the same. Easy runs, long runs, steady state runs, tempo runs. They all remain important. But interval pace becomes way more important. It is, after all, pretty close to 5k pace. So, you want to start regularly adding in intervals into your training regime. Once per week is fine; I would not go doing intervals more than that.

Your workout of 6 x 800m is a good workout. Try to vary with different distances. A nice progression ahead of a 5k race in the last 4-5 weeks for a race is to slowly go from 12 x 400m to 5 x 1k. E.g. start with 12 x 400m. Next week do 10 x 500m, etc.

More Running, Less Cycling?

You have got a good mix of running and cycling going on. 25-30 miles of running, 50 miles of cycling. And I think, with the above tips, you will hit that sub-22 goal.

But, if the sub-22 remains out of reach, you may want to contemplate a training period in which you run more and cycle less.

More running miles, a bigger engine, a longer long run. It will all help towards that sub-22 pursuit. I am not dismissing cross-training as a valid way to train. But if your body can handle it, more running is generally better in case you are in pursuit of faster running times.

All in all, I think you are in a great place. You are already well on the way in your half marathon training. The next three months you can focus on building your endurance. After the half marathon is done, all you may need to do is have a 4-8 week period with more 5k-dedicated speedwork. And then, you are pretty likely to hit that sub-22 minute 5k goal.

Hope this helps.
Kind regards,
Dominique