Mark Hayward Personal Training- Aylesbury, Bucks- Boot Camps- Personal Training- Princes Risborough, Milton Keynes, High Wycombe, Winslow, Thame, Stone, Bierton, Dunstable, Beds- Mark Hayward Advanced Personal Trainer

How you prepare for your first 5K run will largely depend on your previous running experience. You may have been running for fitness for but never entered an organized event. I will assume you have done a little running. Maybe you've done easy runs of 15-20 minutes 2 or 3 times a week. Here is some advice on helping you to do the best you possibly can:

The key to training in the early stages of your preparation is to take it slow and easy. I feel that 3 months is about the ideal amount of time to prepare for your best time on the race day. By trying to do too much too soon, you risk an injury.
The first 4 weeks, plan on training 3 times per week.Note that you are training now and not jogging. The idea is to give yourself a rest day in between run days. This is especially important in the early training weeks.For example: Run Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
Don't worry about how far you are running. Focus on the duration of your runs. That will make planning your training program that much easier.
The first 3 months of training, plan your longer runs for the weekend.

So I would suggest this for your first month:

• Tuesday-15 minute run.
• Thursday 20 minute run.
• Saturday 30 minute run.

The second month of training, you will begin to get a bit more serious and increase the running times to run 4 days per week.

• Tuesday-20 minute run. minute run.
• Thursday- 25 minute run.
• Friday- 30 minute run.
• Saturday- 35 minute run
• Monday, Wednesday-rest days.
• Note that you should take a rest day "after" the longest run. Do this whenever you train for a race of any distance. Recovery time is very important.

The two main weeks of training will be weeks 9 and 10, the first two weeks of the third month. For those two weeks only, you will train for 5 days and rest for 2.

• Monday-20 minute run.
• Tuesday 25 minute run.
• Thursday 30 minute run.
• Friday 20minute run.
• Saturday 40 minute run.
• Wednesday and Sunday-rest days.

There is a rest day in the middle of the training week. This is a recovery day. Also, you have a short run the day before your longest effort of the week. You have a rest day "after" the longest run.

From the start of week 9 begin to do your runs a little faster than your normal pace of the previous weeks.Also, do your long Saturday 40-minute run a bit faster than the other four runs of week 9. You need to get some idea what it is like maintain a steady pace throughout the 5K race.

Week 10 is exactly the same as week 9 except for your Saturday run will be 50 minutes at a good steady pace. The 50 minutes you run on this last big training day will be longer in time than your actual race. When that run is done and you feel like you are now ready.

Cut your training down for the next two weeks leading to your race. REST.

Week 11 will look:

• Tuesday-run 25 minutes.
• Thursday- run 25 minutes.
• Friday- run 20 minutes.
• Saturday- run 35 minutes.
• Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday are rest days.

Note that you are back to 4 days training and your long distance is reduced.

Week 12 will be your final week of preparation and will take you into your race day. Assuming you are racing on a Saturday, your last week will look like this:

• Monday-run 25 minutes.
• Wednesday run 20 minutes.

Friday you are going to run 10 'pick ups.' Go to a track, or on an indoor track and do a 5-minute warm-up run. Then do your pick ups. Run a good brisk, (faster than you normally run) 10-second sprint. Use your watch. Rest for 20 seconds and do it again. Ten times. Do a 5-minute cool-down run. It will take you 15 minutes.

That's it! You are now ready for your 5K race!

Many people take a day off the day before a race. I don't agree with this. Have an easy week and take the penultimate day off before your race. By going out the day before your race and doing the 'pick-ups,' you are staying sharp for the race. You are also reminding your body that you will be asking a litle more from it the following day.