Four-Week 5K Training Plan for a New PB – Fitbit Fifty Reader Challenge

For those brave enough to do the Fitbit Fifty, the running sections will be a welcome break from the saddle – a chance to stretch their legs and take in the scenery of London, Yorkshire and Edinburgh. But as the distances involved are fairly short, they’ll still be tackling these sections at a decent pace, something runners can sometimes neglect in their training.

“If you fancy a four-week challenge, a good aim is to increase your pace, not the distance you run,” says Intelligent Running coach George Anderson, who put together the four-week plan below. “Radically upping the volume you do is an invitation to injury, but upping the intensity of your sessions will let you go harder and faster, and improve rapidly.”

This plan – aimed at runners who can already manage 45 minutes of non-stop running at a moderate pace – will help you run your fastest 5K with three days of training a week (allowing time for conditioning sessions in the gym, if you want).

If you’ve got a heart-rate monitor like the Fitbit Surge, it will help. “Pace isn’t always the best metric for sessions like hill training,” says experienced triathlete and Fitbit ambassador Mike Vulanich. “Because the pace will be slower and less familiar, I’ll typically swipe over to heart rate, which is a more objective metric of effort.”

Here’s the plan to get you into your best ever 5K shape.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4