A 12-week 5k training plan
for a long-time runner
who is starting from zero … Again
In the worst shape of my life
I’ve been running for a long time. I still remember my first “intentional run workout” … I think I was 10. Waking early on a Saturday, I threw on sweatshirt & jeans (yes, that), stuffed some change in my pocket and ran … down the hill to the local Winchell’s donut shop. I walked home munching on donuts the whole way, then went back to bed.
I’ve done a lot more running since then … probably donuts too(!) … thankfully not together!
Unfortunately, right now, I find myself in the worst shape I’ve ever been in. Shoulder surgery plus years of rehab, along with coping habits that rely too heavily on emotional eating, has definitely taken it’s toll! The last few years, the longest I could manage consistently running was a few minutes at most.
I tried turning this around SO MANY times, but I couldn’t make anything stick for long. After lots of trying & failing, I FINALLY found a combination that works for me.
This past week I ran a 5k … the first in a LONG TIME! Now I’m working toward a Half Marathon and then a Full later this year (that will be the first in over a decade!)
The secret combination that worked for me? It’s super simple! And yes, I’ll share.
What didn’t work
The biggest thing that didn’t work was trying to “run at the level I wanted to be” instead of the level I actually was.
I refused to admit to myself that yes, *I was that out of shape*. So I kept acting like I wasn’t. And killing myself trying to run workouts that I couldn’t. I thought my expectations were “already really low” and that just made me more frustrated when I couldn’t meet those!
So I’d get disenchanted and quit.
The other thing that didn’t work was trying to “jump AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE off the level I was at” so I could run at the level I wanted to be.
I would hurt myself doing too much too fast or get frustrated not being able to keep up with my “expectation bloat”.
So I’d get disenchanted and quit. Again.
What did work
What FINALLY worked for me?
(1) Humbling myself and admiting/accepting that I really was *that out of shape*. With that, I was able to start running at the right level for me, completing workouts and finding some success!
(2) Letting myself Run where I was at as long as needed till my body was ready, physically & mentally to move on to the next level.
Living in the present moment
I love the concept of “Being Present” or “Staying in the Present Moment” but I’m realizing I don’t actually do that very often. I like to say I’m being more present, but I don’t actually LIVE there long! My running is a perfect example of that.
I was failing to accept something about the present moment the way it was (i.e. **I really was that out of shape.**) Refusing to admit that, I was deluding myself, stuck in my head, in a story I was telling myself about how things were … even though they really weren’t. I was avoiding truth.
I can’t BE Present / Stay in the Present moment while avoiding what is True in the present moment.
Things exactly as they are, good and unfortunately bad too is exactly truth in this moment. Not realizing that is exactly what was keeping me from Being Present …
… And exactly what was keeping me from making progress on my goals / dreams.
The best thing I did for myself
(1) I stopped trying to BE somewhere/something I’m not.
(2) Instead of trying to jump as fast as I could from where/what I am to somewhere/something else …
I finally just Let Myself BE where I’m at.
Truth in the Present Moment
–> Where I’m at right now is a combination of all the circumstances, experiences & choices I’ve had/made in my life up to this point. If I want to blow my mind a bit, I could consider ALL thru the ages, the exact combination of circumstances, experiences & choices that happened by a lot of people, that brought me to this very point right now. —> W.O.W.
In this moment, I can just
Accept All Of It
–> It is what it is. No more mentally fighting against, shaming or regularly lamenting ANY of it. Whatever it’s been, whatever choices were made, whatever happened, it just is. Nothing can change what is past AND I can just leave it there.
What’s important is
exactly where I am right now
AND what I choose to do next.
Time for change
–> Yes, time. Time for new choices to create new habits that will give me different experiences than the ones I have right now.
Give myself the time
needed to change
The cool part about time is it just happens. I don’t have to try to force it or push super hard to make it move, it just does that regardless. If I make use of the time or not, it will still pass. Making new choices now, something different WILL happen in time.
So no, I don’t have to try to be somewhere/something I’m not … or try to get somewhere else as fast as possible. Time will do that for me, if I make use of it here & now.
In the Present Exactly as I am.
And learning how to pleasantly LIVE there.
As I do this, I am FINALLY seeing the progress on my goals that I’ve wanted for so long!!
The 12-week “Run where I’m at even
though it’s not where I want to be”
5k training plan
So here’s what “running where I’m at” over the last 12 weeks looked like. Consider yourself pre-warned … It is not pretty 🙂
This plan is based primarily on the FIRST Institute’s NOVICE program (I LOVE their Run Less, Run Faster book!) I REALLY didn’t want to be a NOVICE again, I fought so hard against it until finally just accepting it. I actually prayed before starting asking for help getting beyond NOVICE as quickly as possible 🙂 The thought that came was Run Every Day (6 days a week). I was surprised, but as I’ve thought about it, two things showed up:
(1) I’ve run for years, so my legs have a ton of miles on them. I need rest/recovery, but not as much as a NOVICE runner just starting out running. So running ~every day for me, is actually do-able without being too much until I work my way back into shape!
(2) As you can see below, with all my crossed out workouts, there were plenty of days I didn’t get my run in. That and multiple times along the way, knee or hip problems cropped up. Instead of trying to push thru them and BE somewhere my body wasn’t ready to be yet, I adjusted the plan. I gave myself stretching, foam rolling, walking and rest until I was ready to go again. Each time it only took a few days before my body was ready to move forward!
How to read the plan
>> Reading the ‘shorthand’ in the plan below:
2R1W x4 means
2 min Run followed by 1 min Walk – Repeat that 4 times
(Yes, that was one of my workouts!)
| Week | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Goal |
| 1 | 3R1W x5 | REST | Do something! | |||||
| 2 | 4R1W | Walk | 4R1W x4 | Walk | 4R1W x4 | REST | Do something again! | |
| 3 | ~Run | Walk | 2R1W x3 | REST | Humble. Admit out of shape! | |||
| 4 | 2R1W x6 | 2R1W x8 | 3R1W x4 | 3R1W x5 | ~Walk | ~Stretch | REST | Knee pain, give my body time. |
| 5 | 3R1W x5 | 4R1W x5 | 4R1W x3 | 4R1W x4 | REST | Run the level I’m at | ||
| 6 | 4R1W x6 | 4R2W x5 | 4R1W x6 | 4R1W x7 | REST | Give myself time to change | ||
| 7 | 5R1W x4 | 4R1W x7 | Walk | Walk | Walk | 5R1W x5 | REST | Hip struggles. Give more time. |
| 8 | 6R1W x5 | 6R1W x3 | 6R1W x4 | 1mi R, 5W 6R1W x3 | 1mi R, 5W 6R1W x3 | REST | Made it to 1 mile! | |
| 9 | 1mi R | 1mi R | 1mi R, 5W 1mi R | 1.5mi R | 1.5mi R | ~Walk | REST | Made 1.5 miles! |
| 10 | 1.5mi R, 5W 0.25mi R | 2 mi R | 2 mi R | 2 mi R | 2.5 mi R | REST | Made 2 miles! | |
| 11 | 2.5 mi R | 2.5 mi R | Sick | Sick | ~Walk | REST | Got sick. Time to Rest & Get well! | |
| 12 | ~Stretch | 2 mi R | Train | 3 mi R | Train ~Walk | 3.1 mi R | REST | Made it!! What’s next?! |
Adjustments
Things I learned thru the last 12-weeks:
>> When you’re really out of shape, just starting running again, you’ll probably make alot of adjustments to the original training plan. This is a good thing 🙂 It’s exactly how you “Run where you’re at” on any given day.
This includes adjustments to races planned / hoped for! “Where you’re at” doesn’t always line up with the races you want to do (i.e. my 5k above). Don’t feel like you have to miss/cancel races you aren’t quite ready for. Just go do what you can and walk the rest. It may not feel like it, but it really is ok. There will be plenty more races in your future that you’ll be ready for, I promise!
>> When I transitioned from time intervals to miles, I realized the running every day thing wasn’t gonna work anymore. My legs just needed more than one day a week rest. I was frustrated at first, because 1) it would slow down my progress thru the training plan (back to that jumping as fast as possible off of where I’m at!! Oops) and 2) I’d need to find a different workout to do on days between runs.
Transitions are not so easy, especially starting out. Just give yourself lots of grace, keep trying, keep adjusting until you find the way to make it all work! It will!
Staying “Beginner” a little longer
I was SO HAPPY to finally make it thru the NOVICE 5k plan! The experienced runner in me had a really hard time not rolling my eyes at myself! I was SO READY to be done with beginner level stuff and jump into some hard-core training for the races I had planned!
It didn’t take long to realize I was back “trying to run from where I wanted to be” instead of where I was. I spent most of a day grouching at God about because I was so frustrated! The words that quietly came were “it would be better to stay here a little longer.”
Recognizing truth, I decided I could stay beginner for now and be ok with it.
The Next 12-weeks
Using the FIRST Institute INTERMEDIATE program as a base, I wrote up my next 12-weeks of “stay beginner for a little longer” training plan. It adds
- hill runs (stronger legs & lungs)
- intervals (better VO2 max & speed, working fast twitch muscles)
- tempo runs (raising lactate threshold, the point below which you maintain aerobic efforts)
- cross training (active recovery – adds mileage while still resting from running)
This does some really good things, not the least of which is
- Adding variety to the monotony (yes, let’s admit this is sometimes true) of running just miles! (Especially when you’re trying to be ok with staying at Beginner longer! 🙂
- These types of workouts greatly improve running strength & stamina over just miles. Try it! It will add more stress on the legs, so we need to build a good running base (consistently > than ~10 mi/week) before adding them in
- Start running timed distances and learning how to maintain a pace
How to read the plan
>> Reading the ‘shorthand’ in the plan below:
XT = cross-training. The FIRST program gives a list of recommended cross training workouts. I’m trying biking and rowing.
Intervals = track repeats or running shorter segments at 5k or slightly faster pace. Start each interval workout with 10 min EZ warmup and ends with 10 min EZ warmdown. Your body will thank you profusely in the future if you stick to this!
Realize that 5k pace means the pace you can run NOW for a 5k, not the pace you wish you could. Do not run these as fast as you can, that will mean injury given time. Try to run them all consistently at the recommended pace.
Tempo = ‘comfortably hard’ miles, ~15 – 45 sec slower than 5k pace. These workouts are the bomb. They improve running ability more than anything else I’ve seen!
ST = Short Tempo, MT = Medium Tempo. Again, try to run these miles consistently at the recommended pace. Unlike intervals, there is no rest interval between miles. They also aren’t nearly as fast 🙂
Long = longest distance run of the week. It’s the run you will consistently work up to longer distances depending on your goals. It’s probably the most important run you’ll do all week. The FIRST program gives a recommended pace for this run too.
Friday = GYM day. While doing the NOVICE 12-week plan above, I discovered the amazing benefit that doing something every day (6 days a week, 1 day rest) was for my well-being!! So when I switched to the standard FIRST 3plus2 training, the 6th day became a gym day.
I do ~45 minutes of extended mobility work, with extra focus on anything that is painful or nagging. Then I do the FIRST program recommended strength exercises, followed by a few specific upper body lifts (especially for the back). This helps alot with running posture & efficiency. One of these days I will add core work too, which also helps running and will help balance out all the back work.
- Hvy Lat Pull downs – alternate with:
- Hvy Bench Press (the machines are next to each other at the gym)
- Step ups (quick if on a step, slow if on a bench – nothing too strenuous)
- Hvy Seated Row – alternate with:
- Overhead Press (not heavy, still rehabing my shoulder)
- Lateral steps (up & over if on a step, or karaoke’s/crossovers if no step)
- If I have time to, I add:
- Pull-ups – alternate with:
- Elevated Pushups (elevated because of the shoulder)
- Supermans or Face-pulls.
| Wk | Mon (Intervals) | Tue (XT) | Wed (Tempo) | Thu (XT) | Fri | Sat (LONG) | Total |
| 1 | 10 WUp 4×400 @2:30 10 WDn | XT | 1 mi EZ 1 mi ST 1 mi EZ | XT | 3 mi EZ “10 & 1’s” | ~ 9 mi R | |
| 2 | 1×400 @2:30 2×800 @5:04 | XT | .75mi ST | XT | 3 mi Struggled | Too much Too fast | |
| 3 | 3.5 mi Hills | XT | 1mi ST | XT | 3.5 MT | R: 9.5 mi Slower | |
| 4 | 3.5 mi Hills | XT | 1.5mi ST | XT | 4.0 MT | R: 10.5 mi | |
| 5 | 4 mi Hill Repeats | XT | 1.5mi ST | XT | 4.5 MT | R: 11.5 mi | |
| 6 | 4 mi Hill Repeats | XT | 1.5mi ST | XT | 5.0 MT | R: 12.5 mi | |
| 7 | 400,600, 800 @10:00p | XT | 1.5mi ST | XT | 5k RACE | St Patty’s Day Race | |
| 8 | 2×1000@6:25 | XT | 2mi ST | XT | 5.5 MT | R: 12.5 mi | |
| 9 | 6×400 @2:30 | XT | 2mi ST | XT | 6.0 MT | R: 13.5 mi | |
| 10 | 3×800 @5:05 | XT | 2mi ST | XT | 6.5 MT | R: 14 mi | |
| 11 | 200,400,600, 800 @10:00p | XT | 2mi ST | XT | 7.3 MT | R: 14.5 mi | |
| 12 | 4×400 @2:30 | 2mi EZ | 10k RACE | Cherry Blossom Run |
My husband, new to distance running, is training for his first 5k –> the St Patty’s Day race listed above. His training plan is here: *Link* or you can follow his journey on facebook at “Crazy Wild-Ass Plans”. Yeah, that’s him!
I’m staying open right now about training plans after the 5k. I have lots of races on the list (10k Cherry Blossom Run, Olympic Adventure Trail run, Ragnar Trail Zion’s and the Newport Half Marathon!) … but we’ll see how this next 8 weeks goes before I decide what’s next!