by Ray Fauteux

Created on: May 24, 2007

A lot would depend on your prior running experience. You may possibly have running for fitness in your background. Maybe even for years, but as of yet you have never entered an organized event.

For the sake of this article, let's assume you have done a little running. Just easy runs of maybe 15-20 minutes 2 or 3 times a week.

However, you have decided that you want to challenge yourself further and saw the notice for the 5k run and decided you would enter.

Let's assume this is your first 5k run. The first time you have ever entered an actual organized race and you want 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 perfect amount of time to properly prepare for your best possible showing come race day.

By trying to do too much too soon, you risk injury and injury was a way of discouraging people from taking up a sport they could well come to love.

For 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. Rest 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.

During the 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.

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

Tuesday-20 minute run.
Thursday-25 minute run.
Friday-30 minute run.
Saturday-35 minute run.

Sunday, Monday, Wednesday........rest days.

*Note that you always take a rest day "after" your longest run. Do this whenever you train for a race of any distance. Recovery time is vital.

Your two biggest weeks of training of the 12 weeks 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-20 minute run.
Saturday-40 minute run.

Wednesday and Sunday...........rest days.

Note a few things here. You have a rest day in the middle of your training week. This is your mid-week recovery day. Also, you have a short run the day before your

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