THE ULTIMATE 5-K PLAN

Intermediate
To segue from finisher to racer, you'll need to add more weekly miles, yes, but more important, intensity in the form of timed intervals both at (pace intervals) and below (speed intervals) your 5-K goal pace, along with a crucial weekly hill-training session."Running hills once a week--a five- to six-grade is optimal--at a fairly hard effort for up to three minutes at a time is an ideal way to get stronger," says Sinclair. How come? Because hill training greatly improves leg and gluteal strength while increasing aerobic capacity and stride length, along with ankle flexion that enables you to "pop" off the ground more quickly. How hard is "fairly hard"? A classic study from years ago found that running up even a slight hill at a steady pace raises your heart rate up to 26 beats higher than the same effort on the flat. So 5-K effort (not pace) is what to shoot for. Again, regarding intensity as opposed to mileage, a recent study in the online journal Peak Performance found that you'll run your best races from 5-K up not when you've run the most miles, but when you hit a reasonable mileage level and then crank up your intensity.

Stuff You Need to Know

Pace Intervals (PI)
If your 5-K goal is 10:00 pace (31:02 finishing time), run pace intervals at 1:15 (for 200 meters), 2:30 (400m), 5:00 (800m). For 9:00 goal pace (27:56), it's 1:07 (200m), 2:15 (400m), 4:30 (800m). For 8:00 minute goal pace (24:50), it's 1:00 (200m), 2:00 (400m), 4:00 (800m). For 7:00 goal pace (21:44), it's 0:53 (200m), 1:45 (400m), 3:30 (800m).

Speed Intervals (SI)
For 10:00 pace, run 1:11 (for 200 meters), 2:22 (400m), 4:44 (800m). For 9:00 pace, it's 1:04 (200m), 2:08 (400m), 4:15 (800m). For 8:00 pace, it's 0:56 (200 m), 1:53 (400m), 3:45 (800m). For 7:00 pace, it's 0:49 (200m), 1:38 (400m), 3:15 (800m).

Recovery Time
For pace intervals, slowly jog half the distance of the repetition (i.e., 200m jog after 400m repetitions). For speed intervals, jog equal distance (i.e., 400m jog after 400m repetitions).

Hills and Easy Runs
For 9:00 pace, use the lower number; 7:00 folks move toward the higher. Interval and Hill Days Jog 2 miles, then run 4x100m strides to get primed before the workout. Jog 2 miles to cool down after, then stretch.



Race Day Rules
"It's all about negative splits," says Bob Williams. "Always." Which means you run the first half of the race slower than the second half. Tough to do when you're pumped up, but you must. Hold back in the first mile, Williams advises, then "seek out other runners to pass in the second mile, but don't push beyond a comfortably hard effort." Increase gradually to discomfort in the last mile, and over the final 400 meters, try to pick it up.