5K training program for running moms

I know it’s been a while, but here is finally my second post in the series for running moms, with a suggested training program for a 5K run. As mentioned already in my previous post with general advice for beginning running moms, it is important to only use this program as a guideline and to make your own adjustments where necessary taking into consideration your available time and energy levels. You can increase or decrease activity, try to do a shorter program if you’ve already been active previously (e.g. by starting in week 3 or 4) or take much more than the suggested 8 weeks to prepare for a 5K distance, even take a break for a week or 2 if needed – just make sure you feel good with your level of activity! 

So here’s my suggestion for an 8-week training program for a 5K distance for beginning running moms. There are 3 or 4 training sessions per week, of which one is a short run, one a long run, one a cross training session and one a short (and optional) recovery session on the day after your long run. A cross training session can be any kind of exercise except for running: for example, you could swim, bike, walk, do some cardio workout in the gym (e.g. stationary bike, elliptical), take a group fitness class at the gym (e.g. spinning, aerobics, Zumba) or do some cross training at your own home with help of an exercise DVD (for example, I’ve been using a 20-minute Body Combat workout on DVD as one of my cross training options – a great choice for me as it usually gives me a lot of extra energy!) Supposing Sunday is usually the best day for a somewhat longer training session, in below program I’ve chosen the Sunday for the long run, then a short recovery session on Monday (which you can decide to eliminate if you’re too tired or just don’t have time for that many sessions a week), a short run on Wednesday, a cross training session on Friday and then back to the long run on Sunday. However, feel free to change the sessions to other days of the week depending on your personal weekly schedule and activities.

For some general information and advice before starting with this program, check out my previous post: Running moms: training programs and some general advice.

Good luck and feel free to share your experiences in a comment below! Are you already a pro at running 5K and do you want more challenge? Wait for my next posts with suggested training programs for 10K and 21K!