After we've been training for a while, even us "no pros" want to track our fitness gains and check if all the blood, sweat and tears is actually making a difference!
Aside from actually joining a race, one way to do track your fitness improvements is by running a "5k test".
Doing a 5k test is quite simple: just run 5k as fast as possible! A 5k run test gives you a benchmark of your current speed, endurance and willpower, as well as helping to plan pacing strategies for upcoming workouts. You can do a 5k test every 6-8 weeks to track your fitness improvements, but it's important to have a solid aerobic base before doing a 5k test in the first place to avoid injury.
In this post we'll have a look at the what, the why and the how of a 5k test.
What is a 5K Run Test
The concept of a 5k run test is quite simple. You run 5k in the fastest time you possibly can. To get the most accurate result possible there are a few things to take into consideration
An alternative method that may hear about is a test to find your 5k pace, as suggested in this article by Gale Bernhardt for Active.com.
This test involves running 4 x 1600m with 90 seconds of recovery between each interval and then taking the average pace over each interval to gauge your 5k race speed.
For the rest of this article, we'll focus on a straight out 5k run.
Why do a 5k test?
5k is a good distance to test your fitness as it's more doable for runners at all levels of fitness. Beginners will struggle to complete 10k at first, and in many cases this will may even be the goal race distance.
On the flipside, doing a test over 2k is quite short and may not give an accurate representation of fitness as it's quite short and you're not testing your aerobic capacity for a prolonged period.
Sandra Gallagher-Mohler, coach at I Run Tons explains the 5K is the perfect test of three key factors: speed, endurance and will. Because it tests all of these things simultaneously, it offers runners the ability to see what their body can do in an all-out effort in a reasonable amount of mileage.
“Once you’ve truly pushed the pace in a 5K you now have valuable data points regarding your current and potential fitness.”
And according to NYC-based, former NCAA distance coach, Sean Fortune of Central Park Coaching, tThe intensity is closely associated with the VO2 max intensity, or the maximum amount of oxygen a person can utilize during intense effort,” shares Fortune. “This is used very effectively for interval training to improve endurance and speed endurance for a wide-range of competition distances and general physiological fitness building.”
And Matt Fitzgerald of 80/20 endurance says it "generally offers a more reliable basis for prescribing appropriate target training paces than do results from longer events because both aerobic and anaerobic fitness factors contribute to 5K performance."
Where to do a 5k test?
Try to find a flat route that allows you to run 5k continuously. So no city runs, or routes that require you to cross the road or have the potential to wait for traffic.
The best places are a running track (if you have access to one) or a park. Trails and towpaths are ok but you may have to contend with other people on your route, and you really want to be able to keep a consistent and steady pace.
A treadmill is also an option. Just make sure that you compare treadmill results and don't compare treadmill vs outdoor because of the different factors between running on a treadmill and outdoors.
When should you do a 5k test?
Because this is going to be an all-out effort, you want to be as refreshed as possible.
Therefore, a good day to do the 5k test is after a rest day, and not the day after you just did a long 15k run!
The time of the day you do it is up to you and when you feel best. I can't normally do a high-intensity workout in the morning and usually leave those for the evenings or weekends.
How to pace a 5k test
Once you've figured out the where and then when you're almost ready to rock and roll!
One final consideration is to think about pacing and think about the pace you're going to start off at.
If you have a sports watch, set yourself some goals for pace and heart rate at each kilometre. Use your most recent runs to decide upon a pace. For example, if you've done a 10k run recently, look at the pace per km and think realistically how much quicker you could run (maybe around 10-20 seconds per km).
If you don't have a sports watch, no worries, just use the RPE scale to set a pace. You probably want to start around 7-8 and finish on 10.
Some example pace per kilometres
How to do the 5k Test Workout
Once you've figured out these things, it's time to rock and roll!
Do a thorough warm-up with stretching and 15 minutes (or 2k) at an easy pace with 2 x 20 seconds pickups towards the end to get your fast-twitch muscles fired up.
Run the 5k. Start off a little slower than the pace you feel you can sustain and getting quicker through each kilometre you run. At the end of the run you should feel like you've given it everything you've got!
Have a good 15-20 minute cool down run and gentle stretches.
Bonus Tip - don't forget to set a new lap or new run after doing the warm up and before you start the 5k test to make it easier to track the time.
How often should you do a 5k test?
Sandra Gallagher-Mohler suggests that "base-building is recommended prior to a 5k test to avoid injury and to obtain the most accurate results,” she explains. “Then, re-testing 6–8 weeks later can help to gain insight into the training adaptations that are, or are not, occurring.”
There's no real point in doing a 5k test every week as you're unlikely to see much improvement over such a short time.
What is a good time for a 5k test?
The answer to this is purely subjective and depends on the individual and what your goals are.
For elite runners they're probably looking to hit something around the 15 minute mark.
For other athletes, just getting it done and seeing some improvement over time is a success.
At the end of the day, most of us are in for the challenge and for fun, so try to not worry about comparing yourself to others too much unless you're into racing quite seriously.
My 5k run test on June 1st 2021
That said, we all do like a bit of friendly competition and banter with our mates, and it can feel good to beat their times!
Final Thoughts
Remember we're not all pros who are going to smash world records and win gold medals, so while knowing these numbers will help you set better training plans and overall performance improvement, it's important to make sure you're having fun and don't be slave to the numbers.
On a personal level, doing the 5k test is one of my favourite workouts/runs. I love the feeling of going all-out and working my body to the max, and trying to improve on my previous time.
And it makes a nice change from all those easy (and sometimes boring) zone 2 runs!!
Hope you guys find this useful and it gives you an idea of why and how to do a 5k test.
No Pro Go Tri!
