You've been building toward this without maybe even realizing it. For the last few weeks, your runs have been measured in time: run for this many minutes, walk for that many, then eventually run continuously for a set stretch.

A transition week is the moment that changes. From here, your goals are measured in distance, and you're officially training to run 5K.

It can feel like a big leap. But actually, it isn't. It's the natural next step, and you've already done the work that makes it possible.

Every new-to-running plan follows a similar arc, because it's a progression that works. You started with walk-run sessions: short bursts of running with planned walking breaks, letting your body adapt to running without asking too much of it too soon.

Transition week is where you take things up a notch. Once you've completed enough walk-runs on your plan, we know your body is ready to shift from running by time to running by distance, without stopping.

Then you move to continuous running, holding a relaxed effort for the whole session without the walk breaks. Each phase quietly built the fitness for the next.

Time on feet is the ideal way to start. It takes the pressure off pace and distance and lets you focus on the one thing that matters early on: showing up and moving. But 5K is a distance goal, and at some point your training needs to speak the same language as the finish line.

Measuring your runs in distance does a few things. It connects your training directly to your goal, so every session is a recognizable step toward 5K. It helps you learn what different distances feel like at an easy effort. And it marks a milestone: you've gone from running for a handful of minutes to training for a set distance, which is no small thing.

Less than you might think. The way you run doesn't change: you'll still keep most of your running at a conversational pace, relaxed enough to speak in full sentences. What changes is how the session is described. Instead of "run for 20 minutes," you'll see a distance to cover.

One thing worth remembering: distance-based doesn't mean every run gets longer. Your plan will still mix things up, with some shorter sessions and some longer ones, all for different reasons. The goal was never to run as far as possible. It's to build steadily toward running 5K, and your plan knows exactly how to get you there.

Transition week is a milestone, so let it feel like one. You've built the fitness to run by distance, and 5K is well within reach. Keep the effort easy, trust the plan, and enjoy the fact that you're now training like the runner you've become.