RW's 4-Week 10K Schedule, 5 Days Per Week
Only a month to train for your 10K? Here's the solution
Posted: 6 May 2000
by Sean Fishpool and Bud Baldaro
Four weeks is long enough to improve your fitness and put a little edge of speed in your legs. There are three schedule options here: one for runners who can spare three days a week to train; one for five days a week; and one for six or seven days a week. Each option loosely relates to a range of target 10K times, and these are shown at the top of each schedule. The most basic option does assume you’re already running a minimum of three times and 16-20 miles a week, so if you’ve never run before but you’re committed to running a 10K in four weeks’ time you’d be best to simply focus on building up the length of your runs rather than following the more speed-orientated structure of these schedules.
Two key things to remember:
- The sessions aren’t set in stone. Be flexible with speeds and distances where you need to, especially if you start to feel tired all the time.
- Feel free to change the order of the sessions to fit in with your daily schedule. Just be sure to follow the basic principle of not scheduling hard sessions back-to-back.
(Approx 40- to 50-minute 10K)
| | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Week 1 | Rest | 2.5M warm-up, then 6 x 600m or 2 mins, with 400m or 2-3 min jog recoveries, then 2.5M cool-down | 6M easy, inc 8 - 10 x 100m strides | 3-4M fast but controlled | Rest | 6-8M easy, inc hills | 6-7M easy |
| Week 2 | Rest | 2-2.5M warm-up, then 5 x 800m or 3 mins, with 400m or 2.5-min recoveries, then 2-2.5M cool-down | 5-7M easy, inc 8-12 strides | 2M easy, 2M fast, 2M easy | Rest | 6-8M fartlek, emphasis on pyramid efforts | 7-8M easy |
| Week 3 | Rest | 2-2.5M warm-up, then 5 x 1000m or 3.5-4 mins, with 400m or 4-min recoveries, then 2-2.5M cool-down | Rest | 6-8M steady, inc hills | Rest | 2M easy, 1M fast, 1M easy, 1.5M fast, 2M easy | 8-9M easy |
| Week 4 | Rest | 2-2.5M warm-up, then 4 x 800m or 3 mins, with 400m or 4-min recoveries, then 2.5M cool-down | 5-7M easy | 6M steady | Rest | 3-5M easy, inc a few strides | RACE |
Discuss this article
Fartlek is swedish for Speedplay, and means mixing in efforts of random length and frequency in a run, determined by how you feel eg effort to next corner, 3 lamposts, until next car passes etc.
Pyramid sessions are a sequence of efforts of escalating then reducing length ie on a square course -1 side effort, 1 side rest, 2E 1R, 3e 1R, 4E 1R, 3E 1R, 2E 1R, 1E 1R. Is a good tool for working you hard because once you've reached peak effort you are already winding down
Posted: 17/02/2004 at 13:37
Hi there,
Am looking to use this schedule to boost my 10k times - at present can do a 10k in 55 mins.
Have got a couple of questions...and wondered if someone can answer them for me please....
1, I am quite busy with my job and sometimes cannot train say on a Thursday if my schedule tells me too...Does it matter if I say do my training on a Mon, Tues, Wed, Sat and Sun instead of a Tues, Wed, Thurs, Sat and Sun as in the schedule? Providing I do same number of sessions a week, does it matter what days of the week I train on?
2, In some sessions, it says there is a say 2 mile warmdown. What is the benefit of this? Is it solely to try and prevent injury or stiffness in muscles or is it also to help build up my weekly mileage?
Many thanks to whoever can help me with these questions.
Kind Regards,
Nick
Posted: 16/10/2006 at 10:16
HI guys, got my 1st 10k coming up in 4 weeks, managed to reach a reasonable level of fitness, so now wanna follow these plans to pollish up my time. Prob a silly question, but could somone explain to me what is meant by 2.5M warm-up, then 6 x 600m or 2 mins, with 400m or 2-3 min jog recoveries, then 2.5M cool-down. I understand "2.5miles warm up", but then "6x600metres" no probs, "or 2 mins".... of what? This would help as it's easier for me to judge time rather than distance.
Posted: 18/08/2008 at 13:43
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