Basic Running Tips: 5K Pace Running Chart

Running seems to be one of those sports that people either love or hate. You get the triathlete or elite runner who will be out training come rain or shine. The people who feel they have to go running to lose a bit of weight and hate every second of it. Then you get those of us somewhere in the middle, people like me, who go for the occasional run when the urge arises. Averaging somewhere around the 10-11 minute mile.

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However, there’s something about knowing how fast (or not so fast) you can run that seems to get addictive. For me, that was the best way to get more motivated to run more often. Seeing my overall time coming down per mile as I got better the more I trained. Having a target pace in mind can really make you focus more on the end goal instead of just going for a run with no real training plan.

So, whether you’re a great runner already, or more like me, the average person who simply enjoys running. Here are some tips to help you get faster and improve your current fitness level. Including a great 5k pace running chart to help focus your mind on the bigger picture.

Covering The Basics

Whether you love to run alone, have joined a running group, or like to go with friends. Making sure you have the basics is so important to get the best results. So, what are the basics when it comes to running?

• The correct shoes
• The right clothing
• Technology?
• Running accessories
• Pace yourself!

Running Clothes

You’ll want to wear, if possible, clothes that can breathe well and that are designed specifically for sport. Activewear that’s made from materials able to handle sweating effectively. Whilst also regulating your body temperature and ensuring chaffing isn’t going to be a problem.

If you’re going to be running in warmer weather, make sure you don’t wear so much that you overheat. If it feels cool out, maybe wear a thin jumper or special running top that you can easily take off should you get too cold.

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However, If you’re going to be running during the colder months, it’s worth looking into getting some thermal running clothes. This will ensure you’re warm enough, will still allowing your body to breathe as you exercise. While running does increase your body temperature, everyone feels the cold differently. The last thing you want is to start freezing while out on your run. Of course, this does change from person to person and depends on everything from circulation to body composition. If you’re particularly susceptible to the cold, you’ll want some extra layers – at least until you warm up.

Thermal running gear is actually designed to prevent you from overheating, just as much as it’s made to keep you warm. Experiment with different layers and find out what works best for you in different weather scenarios.

Running is meant to be good for us and to be a positive experience. It’s not worth making yourself unwell for by freezing yourself!

Running Watches

Wearing technology such as a smartwatch isn’t necessary at all when running, especially when just starting out. However, these GPS-running watches can provide you with a lot of useful information. They can take note of your step count, and heart rate and some can even monitor your blood oxygen levels. Where they really come in handy though is when, or if, you become more competitive with your running.

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Whether it’s to give you your predicted finish time. Or to give you an indicator of your anaerobic threshold as you go from sprinting to jogging over longer distances. Some are even able to give you a target time for popular race distances so you can see how you compare in your own training. They’re able to give you a better understanding of when you might need to take it easier if your heart rate spikes. Or push yourself more if you’re slacking off!

Of course, if you’re just starting out, you might just want one to look at your heart rate. Or the time and distance covered throughout your run. Doing this can be a great way to see your progress over time.

Running Shoes

The type of shoes you wear whilst running can be a make or break for some people. Especially if you have knee or ankle issues, or issues with your feet. Many runners find they get complications like Achilles Tendonitis and Plantar Fasciitis which are VERY painful. Plus, once you’ve had them, they can be difficult to get rid of.

To help prevent issues like this from happening, make sure you get yourself a good pair of trainers or running shoes. Also, making sure you warm up properly and stretch well before and after your run can make a huge difference.

You also need to make sure you ease yourself into running. For example, don’t try to go for a 2-hour run having not run before. Or if you haven’t done any training like that for a while. Things like stretching and having the correct footwear will rapidly reduce your likelihood of getting these issues.

When looking for the right running shoe, you first need to determine where you plan to go for your runs. If you’re going to be running on a level road, through fields, or even on a running track for example. If you plan to go for your runs on a proper running track, then shoes with spikes underneath would be the better option as you’ll get more purchase from the track.

However, if running on a road, you might want something with a little more spring to soften the landing on your hips, knees and ankles. If you’re going to spend money on anything when it comes to running, make sure it’s the shoes you buy. Yes, it’s likely to be more expensive to get a good pair, but they should last and they will certainly help protect your feet and joints.

Couch To 5K

If you’re new to running, I would advise you to try out the Couch to 5K technique. It worked wonders for me when I first started running and gave me the motivation to stick at it, even when I was struggling. It’s a 9-week program, 3 runs per week that get progressively harder each week.

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Within about 9 weeks you could have gone from not being able to run at all, to running 5K in not much time at all. It feels great to reach the end of those 9 weeks, so if you haven’t tried it yet, give it a go, you’ve got nothing to lose.

5K Pace Chart

Once you have completed your Couch to 5K, you can start to look at increasing your speed for that 5K. Using the below running pace conversion chart, in the first column, find out how fast you can run in kph. You will then be able to see how fast you can run in other metrics.

For example, if you know you can run 7.30 kilometers per hour, that works out to be 4.54 miles per hour, 8:13 minutes per kilometer and 13:14 minutes per mile.

5K Pace Running Chart

PDF sourced via University of Northern Colorado

It then gives a rough idea of how long it would take you to do a 5K, 10K, half marathon and a marathon, or a race time predictor based on your current speed. So, even if you can’t yet do a 5K run in one go, based on your time in kilometers per hour, you’ll have a rough idea. These pace tables shouldn’t be focused on too much, but it can sometimes be a great way to boost motivation knowing, and being able to see you’re getting better.

Running Outside

For me, running outside down country lanes and taking in the beautiful scenery around me was always something I loved to do and felt great for the mind as well as the body. Stick on your favourite podcast, or playlist on Spotify and before you know it, you’ll be done, back at home feeling great you did it.

Items you might need to run outside include…

• Running belt for your keys
• Something to hold your phone in
• Sunglasses if it’s sunny or you might get glare from the road
• A good pair of headphones

If you do decide to go out running, especially if you go alone, make sure you let someone know where you intend to go and when they should expect you back. This way, if anything does happen, they’ll know where to start looking. You could even use apps such as Find My Phone so someone you trust can see exactly where you are.

I find the more you enjoy an activity, the more likely you are to keep doing it, and the more you do it, the better you’ll become – we all have to start somewhere right? You never know, you may find you’re a great runner and end up doing events like the Great North Run, the London Marathon or perhaps the local family fun run, you never know!

Treadmill Running

Don’t do most of your training on a treadmill if you can help it. It feels completely different and isn’t a true representation of how good you are on the road. I remember spending up to an hour on the treadmill and was pleased with how my training was going. Running for an hour straight without too much effort.

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However, I very quickly found out that running on a road and running on a treadmill are two very different things. Going from the gym to the road was like a huge slap in the face in terms of progress, even at equivalent speeds. Perhaps the lack of wind resistance, along with the treadmill doing a lot of the work for you, gave me unrealistic confidence.

It turned out that I couldn’t do more than about 15 minutes of road running without keeling over. I was so frustrated that the treadmill had lured me into thinking I was much fitter than I was. As soon as I realised this, I stopped going to the gym and focussed on road running instead.

That along with using the Couch to 5K app (my free little personal trainer), helped me improve both my technique at different paces and my ability to run for longer every time.

Keep Going!

When it comes to running, whether just starting out, or even those who have been doing it for years, often the hardest part is getting started. Especially in the depths of winter when it’s cold and wet outside and all you want to do is cuddle up in front of the fire.

However, once you get going and knock through the lack of motivation (we all get it from time to time), running can be such a rewarding experience. Even more so when you start to see results – faster times, being able to run for longer…etc.