How to Run Like a Pro - Week 1

by Anthony Famiglietti on December 13, 2013 in Anthony Famiglietti, Athletics & Training

This is an 8 week training buildup for a fast 5k. I used a similar buildup to win the US 5k Road Racing Championship. This article is focused on the first week of the 5k training program. Some articles will combine 2 weeks of training at a time.

*Always consult with your physician before trying a new training program. It is important to run only what you can handle. Stop if something does not feel right.

If you’re a serious runner, then it’s time to start setting some big racing goals for yourself. We’ll start this training series with a 5k plan, as 5ks are easy to find in all regions of the US and are a great jumping off point to start a racing season with a bang.

It is assumed that you’ll begin this training program having done some recent running with a base of about 50-65 miles per week. If you do not have this training base, be patient and take a few weeks to build your mileage before beginning this program.

If you are unsure of any running terms used in this week’s training, please reference our glossary of popular running terms in a previous post.

TRAINING WEEK 1
Day 1 Monday: Easy run of 6-8 miles. Today’s run is light (easy effort) running at an RPE(rate of perceived effort) 4 to 5. You should be able to talk comfortably while you run.

Day 2 Tuesday: Fartlek session. Start with an easy 2-3 mile jog/run warm up to a safe road, trail or track location. Once there, do some light dynamic stretches to loosen up. When ready, begin running your Fartlek session. Start by running 2 minutes at an RPE of 7 to 8. After each 2 minute hard effort, jog an easy 2 minute effort at an RPE of 3 to 4. Repeat this until you reach 24 minutes of total running. That will be 6 intervals (12 minutes of hard running) in total. After you’re done with your Fartlek, jog 2 miles back home to cool down and finish up. Be sure to hydrate before and after your run! Tip – If heat is an issue, try to run in the early a.m. or late in the day to avoid the excess heat. Most pros get out early, but I enjoy running my workouts at dusk (with lighted safety gear). Feel free to decide what works best with your internal rhythm as an athlete.

Day 3 Wednesday: Easy run 6-8 miles of light (easy effort) running at an RPE 4 to 5. Tip – Do a head to toe assessment today to see how sore you are and focus on what is aching. This is an awareness tool all pros use. You should practice this daily during the start and end of each run. It will help you to become aware of any pre-injury hotspots that can be attended to and will help avoid further injury down the road.

Day 4 Thursday: Easy run 7-8 miles of light running at and RPE 4 to 5. Finish with 3-4 strides after your run to get your legs turning over.

Day 5 Friday: Tempo run session. Jog/run 2 miles as a warm up to a safe location on the roads or nearby greenway. Stop and do some light dynamic stretching if needed, otherwise head straight into your tempo run. Your tempo will be a 4-5 mile run depending on what you think you can handle. Run your pace effort for the tempo at an RPE of 7 to 8. You want to be running fast enough to where you can’t talk or hold a conversation, but not all-out. Your aim should be to run these efforts at a pace that is approximately 15 to 25 seconds slower per mile than your target 5k race pace. When you finish your tempo, jog/run an easy 2 miles back home to cool down. Tip – The best way to know how far you’re running is to buy a GPS watch or use greenway trails that have mile markers. Here is a trick I use as a pro: If you’re familiar with a local race course that you’ve run in the past, use that for mile markers as well. It is very beneficial to run on the same course each week so you can get confident on the terrain and start to see progress week to week by comparing runs.

Day 6 Saturday: Easy run 6-8 miles of light running at an RPE 4 to 5. You can stretch after the run if necessary. I prefer dynamic stretches as opposed to static, standing stretches.

Day 7 Sunday: Long run day. Today you’ll go for a continuous run of 10-12 miles depending on what you can handle. Always start your long runs easy (conversation pace) and try to finish the last couple of miles at a nice effort. The idea is to always be simulating finishing faster than you start in all your runs. You have to teach the mind and body to accelerate when you’re tired to be able to do it in your races.

This is your first workout week. Remember to hydrate and eat some protein immediately post run after every workout. Chocolate milk or a whey protein shake/bar is fine if you can’t get to a meal.

Keep in mind, the mileage, pace efforts and complexity of workouts WILL increase as the training progresses. As you get fitter the workouts will get tougher. We’ll also be adding in some core work with sit-ups and push-ups. I’m starting you off light so you can mentally and physically break yourself in for what lies ahead.

Always remember to celebrate the run and have some fun!