Chris Scalese provides three crucial workouts to improve your 5k PR.

1. Three Go-to Workouts for a
Faster 5k
Chris Scalese

2. Interval/Ladder
Workouts
No 5k training cycle is complete without fast
workouts, and this is where interval and ladder
work comes into play. Most of these workouts
are conducted as either mono workouts, where
the intervals never change (aka: 5×1000) or
ladder workouts typically beginning with longer
or slower intervals and working down to intervals
that are shorter and quicker (aka: 2xmile,
2×1000, 2×800).
These workouts blend endurance and speed
building by chunking up a relatively long distance
over set of quickening intervals, making them
perfect tools for your 5k repertoire.

3. Fartlek Workouts
Fartlek workouts can be performed in a
seemingly countless number of ways, but they
boil down to sporadic periods of hard running
which are balanced with periods of easy
running; think of them as undulating tempo
workouts where the pace alternates between
easy and difficult.
The purpose of these workouts is to help you
develop a perception of what a “hard” effort
feels like for you, all without the added
pressure of following a set pace. If anything,
fartleks are a great way to get acquainted (or
re-acquainted) with tougher running without
the stress of having to perform at a desired
level.

4. Tempo/Threshold
Workouts
Tempo- and threshold-based distance
workouts teach the body to maintain a specific
cadence over a given duration (usually
measured as a set distance or period of time).
These workouts are crucial for 5k training,
especially when conducted at quicker paces,
as they will simulate a certain pace and allow
you to develop a more natural perception of
what that pace feels like, giving you added
insight to your aerobic output on race day.
Be sure to start small and build yourself up
gradually. Doing too much too soon could spell
disaster later in your training cycle (not to
mention it will probably feel very difficult).