12 WEEKS TO FITNESS: FIRST TIMER'S 10K TRAINING PLAN
Running your first 10K is a daunting prospect, but if you get the preparation right you'll be surprised at how easy it can be.
We've teamed up with Brooks and expert PT Graeme Hilditch of GH Training to put together a 12-week training schedule designed specifically to help you build towards running your first 10K.
Training should be challenging, even for regular runners, but not so challenging that it drains you of every last ounce of energy, it shouldn't just be long runs. Above all training should be fun – so with that in mind we’ve kept technical jargon to a minimum, but in order to get the most out of the plan you will have to understand how to gauge your rate of perceived exertion, or RPE.
Rate of perceived exertion
One of the most common questions runners ask when training for an event is how fast they should be running each training session. The trouble is, how do you define “fast?” A fast pace for one person, may well be a slow pace for another. This is where RPE comes in handy as it lets people define their own pace by gauging how hard they feel they are working. Put simply, when applied to a training programme, RPE is a scale of exertion, in this case from 0 - 10.
RPE | Effort level
1 Sitting down chilling
2 Sunday stroll walk
3 Brisk walk
4 Very gentle jog
5 Steady jogging pace
6 Tempo pace - quick jog
7 Quick but sustainable pace
8 Tough going
9 Running away from zombies
10 Usain Bolt pace
The Plan
| Week No | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 30min quick walk / rest | Rest | Jog 1K (RPE 4-5), walk 1K (x2) | Rest | Jog 5min (RPE 4-5), walk 2min (x4) | Rest | Jog 2K (RPE 5), walk if necessary |
| Week 2 | 30min quick walk / rest | Rest | Jog 1K (RPE 4-5), walk 1K (x2) | Rest | Jog 5min (RPE 4-5), walk 2min (x5) | Rest | Jog 2-3K (RPE 5), walk if necessary |
| Week 3 | 30min quick walk / rest | Rest | Jog 1K (RPE 4-5), walk 1K (x2) | Rest | Jog 5min (RPE 5), walk 1min (x4) | Rest | Jog 2-3K (RPE 5) |
| Week 4 | 30min quick walk / rest | Rest | Jog 1K (RPE 5), walk 1K (x2) | Rest | Jog 5min (RPE 5), walk 1min (x5) | Rest | Jog 3-4K (RPE 5) |
| Week 5 | 40min quick walk / rest | Rest | Jog 1K (RPE 5), walk 1K (x3) | Rest | Jog 5min (RPE 6) | Rest | Jog 4-5K (RPE 5) |
| Week 6 | 40min quick walk / rest |
Rest | Jog 1K (RPE 5), walk 1K (x3) | Rest | Jog 5min (RPE 6), walk 2min (x5) | Rest | Jog 5-6K (RPE 5) |
| Week 7 | 40min quick walk / rest |
Rest | Jog 1K (RPE 6), walk 1K (x3) | Rest | Jog 5min (RPE 7), walk 2min (x4) | Rest | Jog 5-6K (RPE 5) |
| Week 8 | 50min quick walk / rest |
Rest | Jog 1K (RPE 6), walk 1K (x3) | Rest | Jog 5min (RPE 7), walk 2min (x5) | Rest | Jog 6-7K (RPE 5) |
| Week 9 | 50min quick walk / rest |
Rest | Jog 1K (RPE 6-7), walk 1K (x4) | Rest | Run 3min (RPE 7-8) | Rest | Jog 6-7K (RPE 5) |
| Week 10 | 50min quick walk / rest |
Rest | Jog 1K (RPE 6-7), walk 1K (x4) | Rest | Run 3min (RPE 7-8), walk 2min (x6) | Rest | Jog 7-8K (RPE 5) |
| Week 11 | 40min quick walk / rest |
Rest | Jog 1K (RPE 6-7), walk 1K (x4) | Rest | Run 3min (RPE 7-8), walk 2min (x6) | Rest | Jog 7-8K (RPE 5) |
| Week 12 | 30min quick walk |
Rest | Jog 2-3K (RPE 4-5) | Rest | Jog 2-3K (RPE 4-5) | Rest | Run 10K! |
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