8 Week Training Program to get you Fit for a 5k Run

As you know, I am training for a 5k with my sister, the running portion of a coed triathlon and for some swimming events. Thankfully, my sister has a gym membership that lets me train with her and my office just gave me a membership to a local community center that has a pool. Now that my needs are met, it’s time to setup a training regimen.

First, I have to identify my…

Goals

These are all competitive sports so it goes that I’ll need to be fast in the events.

• Run (or at least jog, no walking) a 5k
  • By the way, a 5k is 3.1 miles
  • Deadline: May 7th
• Run 4.5 miles (I’m also doing a team Triathlon and this is the longest I’ll have ever run competitively. AHHH!!!)
  • Deadline: June 18th
• Swim 50 yards
• Swim 100 yards
• Swim 200 yards
  • Swimming Deadline: June 20th

Now that I have goals set, I can start working on how to meet those goals.

Training Program

5 Mile Run (8K) Training

For the running portion, I’ll continue to do C25K with my sister. The 5k we’ll be doing is May 7th so we have 3 more weeks to prepare. The triathlon I’m doing with my office is June 18th. That means I will have 6 weeks after the 5k to prepare to run 4.5 miles (just short of an 8k) and I’ll need a plan for that. I did some searching to help with training for the longer distance and found a plan on About Health for training for an 8k.

Start with a 5-10 minute warm-up (fast walk or slow jog), run at an easy pace and finish with a 5-10 minute cool-down (slow jog to fast walk to slow walk).

Week 1:
Day 1: Run easy 2 miles (3.2 K)
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Run easy 1.5 mile (2.4 K)
Day 4: 40-45 min cross-training
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Run easy 2 miles (3.2 K)
Day 7: Rest or 30 min walk

Week 2:
Day 1: Run easy 2 miles (3.2 K)
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Run easy 1.5 mile (2.4 K)
Day 4: 40-45 min cross-training
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Run easy 2.5 miles (4 K)
Day 7: Rest or 30 min walk

Week 3:
Day 1: Run easy 3 miles (5 K)
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Run easy 2 miles (3.2 K)
Day 4: 40-45 min cross-training
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Run easy 3 miles (5 K)
Day 7: Rest or 30 min walk

Week 4:
Day 1: Run easy 3.5 miles (5.6 K)
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Run easy 3 miles (5 K)
Day 4: 40-45 min cross-training
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Run easy 3.5 miles (5.6 K)
Day 7: Rest or 30 min walk

Week 5:
Day 1: Run easy 4 miles (6.4 K)
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Run easy 3 miles (5 K)
Day 4: 40-45 min cross-training
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Run easy 4 miles (6.4 K)
Day 7: Rest or 30 min walk

Week 6:
Day 1: Run easy 4 miles (6.4 K)
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Run easy 3 miles (5 K)
Day 4: 40-45 min cross-training
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Run easy 5 miles (7.2 K)
Day 7: Rest or 30 min walk

Week 7:
Day 1: Run easy 4 miles (6.4 K)
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Run easy 4 miles (6.4 K)
Day 4: 40-45 min cross-training
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Run easy 5 miles (7.2 K)
Day 7: Rest or 30 min walk

Week 8:
Your 8K (5-miler) is this week! Try to take it a little easier this week, so that you’re well-rested for your race. Good luck!
Day 1: Run 40 min
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: 30 min cross-training
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Run 30 min
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Race Day!

200 Meter Swimming Training

I used to swim in high school. Of course, that was several years ago and I don’t remember any of the training. I do remember that I really enjoyed the distance swimming. One of my events was the 500 meter. Well, I’m not doing the 500 meter this go so I have 8 weeks to get swim ready for a 200 meter. That’s pretty doable!

I found this 12-Week Swim Workout Plan on Active.com. That one has 2 workouts in the pool a week. I only have 8 weeks so I’ve modified it to 3 pool workouts per week. By the end of 7 weeks, I should be able to swim 500 meters without needing a rest. It’s not setup as list like the running plan so I did a quick list myself. I’m only putting up to week 9 since that’s all the time I have. Visit their page for the rest of their training plan.

*2 workouts per week. Intensity should change every other workout.

Week 1: 10 x 50 meters w 45 sec rests between

Week 2: 10 x 50 meters w 30 sec rests between

Week 3: 10 x 50 meters w 20 sec rests between

Week 4: 8 x 75 meters w 30 sec rests between

Week 5: 8 x 75 meters w 20 sec rests between

Week 6: 8 x 75 meters w 10 sec rests between

Week 7: 5 x 100 meters w 20 sec rests between

Week 8: 5 x 100 meters w 10 sec rests between

Week 9: Swim 500 meters nonstop

Overall Combined Training Program

Since I only have 8 weeks and I’m doing two types of events, I used the two training plans I listed above and made my own. Here’s what my weeks will look like starting next week (April 25th).

Wish me luck!