Run it around your neighborhood, or get the same workout on a treadmill with incline cues.
Warm-up
- Easy jog10–15 min
Longer warm-up before hard efforts — your engine needs to be fully online before the first hard rep.
- Dynamic drills~5 min
Leg swings, walking lunges, high knees, butt kicks, A-skips, carioca.
- Strides4 × 20 s
Build to ~90% over 20 s, float the last few steps, walk back to full recovery. Primes your legs for fast running.
Main set
- 3K time trial3K hard, even effort
Progressively hard — controlled at the start, emptying the tank by the end.
Run a controlled maximal effort on a flat course or treadmill. Start conservative, build through the middle, finish empty.
Outside: use a flat, measured stretch or a track so the distance is honest.
💡 Use the result to recalibrate your effort — if it feels stronger than expected, your goal 5K effort can nudge up too.
Cool-down & stretch
- Easy jog / walk5–10 min
Bring the heart rate down gradually before you stop.
- Calf stretch30 s × each
Hands on wall, back leg straight, heel down. Then bend the knee slightly to hit the lower calf (soleus).
- Standing hamstring30 s × each
Heel on a low step, hips back, flat back, hinge forward until you feel the stretch.
- Hip flexor lunge30 s × each
Half-kneeling, tuck the pelvis and press hips forward. Huge for runners who sit all day.
- Quad stretch30 s × each
Standing, pull heel to glute, knees together, stand tall.
- Figure-4 glute / piriformis30 s × each
Seated or lying, ankle over opposite knee, gently pull the thigh in.
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