May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. Life Fitness is here to encourage ways to be active during May and beyond. Good luck!
Back in high school, I remember thinking running 26.2 miles was unfathomable. I was active in sports like softball and volleyball, but I couldn’t imagine running a 5K, let alone a marathon.
Five years later I did run my first, and only, marathon. It was a great experience and I was quite proud of myself. However, I think I was actually more proud when I finished my first 5K race – I was officially a runner. It was a Turkey Trot and has become an annual tradition for me since.
Even if 3.1 miles seems impossible, I encourage you to give running a try. Whether it’s outdoors or on the treadmill, follow this schedule and you could be running miles before you know it!
9-Week 5K Training Schedule
Complete each of these workouts three times per week.
- Week 1 – Jog for 60 seconds, walk for 90 seconds (20 minutes total)
- Week 2 – Jog for 90 seconds, walk for 2 minutes (20 minutes total)
- Week 3 – Jog 90 seconds, walk 90 seconds, jog 3 minutes, walk 3 minutes (repeat twice)
- Week 4 – Jog 3 minutes, walk 90 seconds, jog 5 minutes, walk 2.5 minutes, jog 3 minutes, walk 90 seconds, jog 5 minutes
- Week 5 – Jog 5 minutes, walk 3 minutes, jog 5 minutes, walk 3 minutes, jog 5 minutes (try jogging 20 minutes straight during your third workout of Week 5)
- Week 6 – Jog 5 minutes, walk 3 minutes, jog 8 minutes, walk 3 minutes, jog 5 minutes (try jogging 22 minutes straight during your third workout of Week 6)
- Week 7 – Jog 25 minutes
- Week 8 – Jog 28 minutes
- Week 9 – Jog 30 minutes
Don’t forget to include a five-minute walk at a decent pace as your warm-up, and a five-minute walk at the end to cool down.
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