How to Treat Sore Hamstrings After Running fast rather than a couple days, Adolfo Salgueiro, Give A Gift Runner’s World. Nutrition - Weight Loss.

“The 5K is an interesting distance because it is long enough to challenge a novice runner and short enough for long-distance runners to test themselves,” says Salguerio. “Despite being so short, it still requires massive aerobic capacity to execute at maximum performance.”

Learning how to pace a 5K can help runners of all levels score a PR, while helping you cross the finish line feeling strong. So, here’s how to do just that, plus how to figure out your goal race pace.

How to Pace a 5K

Many runners pace themselves by varying their speed throughout a race, say by starting below their ideal race pace and finishing slightly faster so they hit their overall time goal.

Best Folding Treadmills Runner’s World Pace Calculator to help determine your range of paces. For example, if your goal time is 24 minutes, you would need to average a 7:41 per mile pace. You don’t want your slow pace to drop below about 8:10 and it’s possible your fast pace will go up to 7:30, if you’re looking to score that PR. Check out the pace charts Surprising Stress Symptoms in Runners.

“Races & Places race plans, and I present both to my athletes so they can figure out which one is the best fit for them,” Salgueiro says.

  • Plan A: Start conservatively on the first mile, switch to a faster gear on the second one, and give it everything you have in the final mile.
  • Plan B: Go fast for the first mile, slow a tad for the second one, and hold on for dear life with what you’ve got left on the third mile.

For both plans, Salgueiro suggests you set your GPS watch to alert you every half mile to check in with yourself. A 5K goes by fast and you don’t want to run out of power too far away from the finish line. The alerts will help you get a handle on your pace and how hard you’re working so you can determine if it’s time to push it or pull back.

Use the pace in a month or two, depending on your scale (RPE) to determine how hard you’re working, or if you’re an experienced runner, you may have connected your RPE to a specific pace. On the RPE scale, 1 is very little exertion and 10 is all-out exertion. During a 5K, you’ll mostly run from a 7 to a 10. For reference, a 7 to 8 should be borderline uncomfortable, according to Salgueiro.

Here are the details on each plan for how to pace a 5K:

Plan A: Slow, Fast, Faster

Run the first mile at an RPE of 6 to 7, then push a little more to a 7 or 8 for the second mile. Push to a 9 in the beginning of the third mile, getting to an all-out 10 in the last quarter-mile of the race. Your slower pace may hover around 10 seconds below your goal pace, which would mean you have to go about 10 seconds above that pace in the final mile. Running at an all-out effort in the last quarter-mile means you take it as fast as you can.

Plan B: Fast, Slower, Faster

Run the first mile at an RPE of 7 to 8, which should be right around your goal pace. Pull back to a 6 or 7 for the second mile, slowing slightly. On the third mile, push to a 9 and in the last 10 to 20 seconds of the race, push to an all-out 10. Feel free to go above your goal pace for the final push—give what you’ve got—but don’t exceed the goal pace by too much earlier in the race. You want gas left in the tank for your final kick.

Whichever plan you chose, be sure to not go all out during the first few minutes of the race, says Salgueiro. Because a 5K is so short, there’s no time to recover and then make up for overdoing it.

If RPE doesn’t work for you, you can also use other metrics Advertisement - Continue Reading Below heart rate. If you think of an RPE of 10 as 100-percent effort, then you can translate an RPE of 7 as 70 percent of your Give A Gift.

Determine Your Goal 5K Pace

Before you dive into a training program focused on hitting a specific 5K finish time, you need to know your current pace. “I believe the best way to find your 5K pace is through mile repeats,” says Salgueiro. “Since it is one-third of the distance and can be run frequently at a very high intensity, it is the best indicator of your 5K pace.”

Give A Gift warm up, then run slower for a quarter or half mile to recover. Then, run a mile at a comfortably hard pace, going for that 7 to 8 RPE effort. Repeat this two times for a total of three mile repeats, making sure you are keeping track of your pace through each mile. The average speed of those miles is your current 5K pace.

“I determine my athlete’s realistic 5K goal pace based on how they progress on their mile repeats during the weeks leading into the race,” says Salgueiro. “As they get into their third repeat and beyond, I will be able to grasp the level at which they can hold their maximum speed.”

If you’re a long-distance runner, you probably don’t want to just divide your 10K or marathon pace by 3.1 miles. Your 5K pace is likely to be faster than your longer race paces. “Every race requires its own strategy to hold your maximum speed at that particular distance for the duration of the race,” Salgueiro explains. “This is why the 10K world record is not double the 5K, or the marathon is not double the half.”

While building up your speed to earn that PR, don’t increase your speed or weekly mileage too quickly. You’re trying to reach your goal pace in a month or two, depending on your training plan, rather than a couple days.

In addition to your run workouts, fill the rest of your training plan with a rest day, cross-training (yoga, biking, or swimming, for example), and strength training, says Salgueiro.

How to Have a Successful 5K Race

Your race doesn’t begin when the starter gun goes off. Your race really begins the day before—you need to eat and sleep properly to prepare your body for race day.

“You’ll want to warm up before the race, doing drills and [active] stretches,” Salgueiro says. He recommends doing a short shakeout run either the day before or even just before the race to loosen your muscles and get your heart rate up.

Fortunately, there are 5Ks almost every weekend in most areas of the country, so try different strategies to see what feels best and brings the best results. Take into account, too, that your pace may vary depending on the course, and whether it’s flat or hilly, which will affect your pace. It’s always a good idea to jog the course before a race to see where you might be able to speed up or need to slow down.