← Full plan

WEEK 5 OF 9

Couch to 5K Week 5: Workouts and What to Expect

First continuous run: 20 minutes. Each of the three sessions is different this week.

Run Walk Warm-up / cool-down
  1. Day 1

    Five and five

    5 min run / 3 min walk / 5 min run / 3 min walk / 5 min run

    Total workout
    31 min
    Time running
    15 min
    Intervals
    7
    Full interval breakdown
    1. Warm-up walk5 min
    2. Run5 min
    3. Walk3 min
    4. Run5 min
    5. Walk3 min
    6. Run5 min
    7. Cool-down walk5 min
  2. Day 2

    Stretch further

    8 min run / 5 min walk / 8 min run

    Total workout
    31 min
    Time running
    16 min
    Intervals
    5
    Full interval breakdown
    1. Warm-up walk5 min
    2. Run8 min
    3. Walk5 min
    4. Run8 min
    5. Cool-down walk5 min
  3. Day 3

    Continuous 20

    20 min continuous run

    Total workout
    30 min
    Time running
    20 min
    Intervals
    3
    Full interval breakdown
    1. Warm-up walk5 min
    2. Run20 min
    3. Cool-down walk5 min

What to expect in week 5

Week 5 is the first week where the three sessions aren't identical, and it's where the walk breaks start disappearing. Day 1 is three five-minute runs with three-minute walks, slightly less total running than week 4 asked of you. Day 2 stretches to two eight-minute runs. Day 3 removes the walk breaks entirely: 20 minutes, continuous.

That last one is a real jump. Your longest unbroken run goes from eight minutes to twenty. But look at Day 2 again: that session already has you running sixteen minutes in total. Day 3 asks for four more, in one piece, and the four weeks behind you were built for exactly that.

Go slower than feels natural, slower than you ran on Day 2, and stop checking the clock. And if Day 3 doesn't happen the first time you try it, repeat the week. There's no prize for finishing on schedule.

More on this: Why week 5 is so hard.