5 km Time Trial
A solo 5 km time trial with a full warm-up and strides, to measure current fitness and derive threshold pace and training zones from the result.
- Duration
- 52 minestimated
- Distance
- 10.5 kmestimated
- Effort
- 74
- Level
- Intermediate
- Focus zone
- VO2max
Your values
Targets relative to your threshold values. Enter your values to see absolute numbers.
100% is your threshold pace. Higher values are faster, lower values are slower.
| # | Step | Length | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warm-upEndurance Easy 15 min | 15 min | 78-88% threshold pace68-78% HRmax72-82% FTP |
| 4 ×Repeat these steps | |||
| 2.1 | IntervalAnaerobic Stride | 20 s | 113-125% threshold pace92-100% HRmax113-130% FTP |
| 2.2 | RecoveryRecovery Walk or jog | 40 s | 70-78% threshold pace55-68% HRmax60-72% FTP |
| 3 | RecoveryRecovery Jog to the start | 2 min | 70-78% threshold pace55-68% HRmax60-72% FTP |
| 4 | IntervalVO2max 5 km time trial, even pace | 5 km | 105-108% threshold pace92-98% HRmax104-112% FTP |
| 5 | Cool-downRecovery Easy jog | 10 min | 70-78% threshold pace55-68% HRmax60-72% FTP |
About this workout
A 5 km time trial is a practical fitness test for runners beyond the beginner stage. It is long enough to reflect aerobic fitness and short enough to recover from within a few days. The result goes straight into race equivalency tables such as Jack Daniels' VDOT, which give training paces for every type of session.
Warm up with 15 minutes of easy running and four strides. Run 5 km on a track or a flat, measured route as fast as you can hold evenly. Aim for the same pace in every kilometer, and use the last kilometer to give everything you have left. Cool down for ten minutes.
For a quick estimate of threshold pace, multiply your average 5k pace in seconds per kilometer by about 1.06. A 5k in 20 minutes, 4:00 per km, gives a threshold pace of about 4:14 per km. Enter the result as your threshold pace and retest every six to ten weeks.
Tips
- Run alone or behind a pacer, not in a group that turns it into a race.
- Ignore the pace alerts and run by feel, the targets are only a guide.
- Avoid hard training in the two days before the test.
Good for5k10k
Season phaseBaseBuildAny time