Building a Sub-27 5K Plan: Can a Husband Coach His Wife?

In this episode of For Better or For Worse, Alex walks Alexis (and you) through the 10-week beginner 5K training plan he built her from scratch, easy pace vs. threshold pace vs. race pace, how many days a week she should actually run, strength training, warm-ups, heart rate zones vs. running by feel, and why a 5K plan somehow includes a 10K long run. Alexis pushes back on almost all of it, they debate whether women handle pain differently than men, Alex recounts a terrifying anaphylactic ER story, and they close out with a heated take on race bandits after a viral clip of a 70-year-old runner getting taken down by a race marshal in Mexico.

If you're training for your first 5K, trying to understand easy pace vs. threshold pace vs. race pace, or just enjoy watching a married couple try (and sometimes fail) to talk running strategy without it turning into a marriage counseling session... this one's for you.

Chapters:

0:00 Is Summer Already Over?

5:31 Alex's Birthday & the Fall Training Reveal

7:52 Recap: Alexis's 5K Time Trial (28:53)

9:53 Breaking Down Alexis's First-Ever Training Plan

12:32 The 3 Key Paces: Easy, Threshold & Race Pace

17:45 How Many Days a Week Should Beginners Run?

20:15 What Should Race Pace Actually Feel Like?

22:33 Alex's "Coaching Credentials"

23:29 Strength Training for Runners, Explained