This schedule is geared toward runners who can run 2 miles comfortably and can run 4 to 5 days per week.
Notes about the schedule:
Mondays and Fridays: Mondays and Fridays are rest days. Rest is critical to your recovery and injury prevention efforts, so don't ignore rest days. Your muscles actually build and repair themselves during your rest days. So if you run every day without taking days off, you won’t see much improvement.
Tuesdays and Saturdays: After you warm up, run at a comfortable pace for the designated mileage. Make sure you cool down and stretch after your run.
Wednesdays: Do a cross-training (CT) activity (biking, swimming, elliptical trainer) at easy to moderate effort for 40 to 45 minutes.
Thursdays: These runs should be done at your 5K race pace. If you're not sure what your 5K pace is, run at a speed that you could sustain for 3.1 miles. Make sure you do a warm-up before your run and cool-down after.
Sundays: This is an active recovery day. Your run should be at an easy (EZ), comfortable pace, which helps loosen up your muscles. Or, you can do a run/walk combination.
Note:
You can switch days to accommodate your schedule. If you're busy on another day and prefer to workout on a Monday or Friday, it's fine to swap a rest day for a run day.
| Week | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 1 | Rest | 1.5 m run | CT | 1.5 m run (race pace) | Rest | 2 m run | 30 min EZ |
| 2 | Rest | 2 m run | CT | 1 m run (race pace) | Rest | 2.5 m run | 30 min EZ |
| 3 | Rest | 2 mi run | CT | 1.5 m run (race pace) | Rest | 2.5 m run | 30 min EZ |
| 4 | Rest | 2.5 m run | CT | 1.5 m run (race pace) | Rest | 3 m run | 35-40 min EZ |
| 5 | Rest | 3 m run | CT | 1.5 m run (race pace) | Rest | 3.5 m run | 35-40 min EZ |
| 6 | Rest | 3.5 m run | CT | 1.5 m run (race pace) | Rest | 4 m run | 35-40 min EZ |
| 7 | Rest | 3 m run | CT | 1.5 m run (race pace) | Rest | 4 m run | 40 min EZ |
| 8 | Rest | 3 m run | CT or Rest | 2 m run | Rest | Rest | 5K Race! |
