Terminology explained

Within this Beginner 5k Training Plan there are some generalisations, assumptions and terminology used that you may not be familiar with, or that I would like to explain in a bit more detail before you begin your training.

The Schedule
This plan has been designed to give you optimum rest and recovery times between your sessions, however, I appreciate that your life may not fall neatly into these days. Wherever possible, try to have at least one non-running day in between each running day. If this is not possible, running two days in a row shouldn't cause too many issues, but I would highly recommend not doing all three running sessions in a row.

Active Recovery
If you have the capacity (time and ability wise) to incorporate some additional low-impact activities like walking, swimming, cycling, or yoga into your routine, this will help provide active recovery and reduce the strain on your running muscles. However, it can also increase your fatigue if this isn’t right for you at this stage, so only include this if you can.

Strength & Conditioning
As you progress on your running journey, adding some strength and conditioning exercises into your training will help provide you with stronger core and leg muscles that are primarily used in running. When the running muscles are not strong enough to take the load of the body over the many (thousands of) steps that you will take during this plan alone, this eventually leads to poor running posture and often injury.

If you are new to strength work, I would recommend a few weeks of muscle activation exercises using only your body weight before moving onto any exercises involving weighted equipment. (There will be a couple of examples of this in your confirmation email).

Rest
The Beginner 5k Training Plan has two complete rest days and one rest or active recovery day. If you are brand new to running and/or you are feeling fatigued, I would recommend you take all three days as complete rest. This means not doing anything extra in your day than you usually would, especially physically active or tiring activities, to allow your body to adequately recover between sessions.

Stretching
You will notice that each session ends with 'Stretch'. It is important to stretch after your runs to help return your muscles to their pre-run state. It doesn't have to take very long, and if you're unsure which ones to do, then I have included some in your confirmation email.

5k Race / Parkrun
Although many runners  train for the sole purpose of racing, I am very aware that this doesn't appeal to everyone (me included). The '5k Race / Parkrun' at the end of Week 8 is purely to indicate the end of the plan - you do not have to enter a race if you don't want to.

However, if you do want to  put your training into practice over a 5k distance, then parkruns are a great way to get used to doing an event in a more relaxed environment. They are free to participate, but you do need to register beforehand and take your barcode with you on the day.

Beginner 5k Training Plan

To download your plan, please complete and submit the below form and it will be emailed to you. The email will also contain a lot of the information on this page so you have it all to hand rather than keep coming back here as you progress.