21 days ago
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Posted On: October 13th 2026, 09:22 am
A 5K feels short, which is exactly why the first kilometre is so easy to get wrong.
If you start at an effort that is already above what your body can sustainably handle, fatigue starts building very quickly. Around your lactate threshold, your body can still keep up reasonably well with the demands of the effort. Push too far above it too early and that balance disappears. Your body starts producing fatigue-related byproducts faster than it can deal with them, and the pace becomes harder and harder to hold.
That’s why a more controlled progression often makes more sense:
KM 1: control KM 2: settle KM 3: hold KM 4: commit KM 5: empty what’s left
We use that same progression in our 5K Race Sets at RUNNERS HIGH. The music stays more controlled early in the race and gradually builds towards the finish, where the extra energy is actually useful.
If you start at an effort that is already above what your body can sustainably handle, fatigue starts building very quickly. Around your lactate threshold, your body can still keep up reasonably well with the demands of the effort. Push too far above it too early and that balance disappears. Your body starts producing fatigue-related byproducts faster than it can deal with them, and the pace becomes harder and harder to hold.
That’s why a more controlled progression often makes more sense:
KM 1: control KM 2: settle KM 3: hold KM 4: commit KM 5: empty what’s left
We use that same progression in our 5K Race Sets at RUNNERS HIGH. The music stays more controlled early in the race and gradually builds towards the finish, where the extra energy is actually useful.
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