Run Training

Run Training

Running.

Simple isn’t it?

Run two, three, four times per week.

But what do we do in these sessions? How can you vary your run training? What type of sessions should you be doing?

Here are a few sessions you may have come across or you may want to include into your run training.

(I would suggest not doing them all at once, introduce them at appropriate points in the season and in the training week)

The Steady Run

The staple of run training. Relaxed, ‘easy’, steady-paced, zone two type effort. Anywhere from 20 minutes to 60 minutes. ‘Conversational pace’ is the intensity level for these types of runs.

The Long Run

Similar to the steady run, this is usually a steady / easy / zone 2 paced run, only a little longer. Building towards a marathon, an Ironman or an Ironman 70.3, this is the run session that will develop, build as the weeks progress. Sometimes (actually, quite a lot of times) I ask athletes to break these long runs up with some short walk breaks e.g. 9 minutes running, 1 minute walking.

Run-Walk

As above, run-walk is often used on the long run for athletes. This is to help us build the long run ‘safely’ (walk breaks provide a little safety net), help us run with good form even towards the end of the run, ensure the overall intensity of the run is lower than it would have been (HR comes down during the walk breaks) and recovery for tomorrow’s training is better. I also prescribe these for athletes just starting out with their running or runners returning from injury or illness.

Short, Fast Intervals

These are typically intervals between 1-2 minutes, sometimes done on the track, and are fast. Usually above 5k pace. Good rest intervals between efforts – either active recovery (slow jog / walk) or standing to recover. I would usually suggest holding back a little on the pace here – 95% effort is much safer than 100%, and provides most of the benefits too.

Tempo

A run session – or part of a run session – that is around top of zone 3 / bottom of zone 4 (sub-threshold) which sees the athlete run ‘comfortably hard’ for long periods of time. This might be a warm up, followed by a tempo effort e.g. 20 minutes, followed by some easy / steady running. Or instead of a single block of tempo work, it might by 3 x 10 minutes @ tempo, with five minutes easy running in between.

Threshold

This used to be my favourite type of session, back in the day. Something like 5 x 1k intervals at ‘threshold’ pace – a pace I could just about maintain for all five – with some slow running / walking recoveries.

Negative Split

Another favourite, these runs teach patience and reward it too. The first half of the run is nice and easy, with the second half of the run a little faster. For me, these can be used on a long run session, or instead of a steady run session.

Progression Run

I love prescribing these for athletes. Usually a 40 minute or 50 minute run that starts really easy and then builds throughout, so the last 10 minutes or so are all about running really strong. The pace builds, the intensity builds, the fun builds!

Fartlek

This is about changing pace during a run. It can be random pace changes or it can be structured. My favourite type of Fartlek run is 10 x 3 minutes @ tempo / sub-threshold, with 2 or 3 minutes in between, running at a steady zone 2 type pace. Athletes have had great results using these types of sessions.

Building Pace

This is similar in concept to a progression run, getting faster as the run progresses, but it can be manipulated a little differently. We can adjust this type of session depending on the runner. For example, session 1 might be

10 minutes easy, 1 minute walk

8 minute a little quicker, 1 minute walk

6 minutes quicker again, 1 minute walk

4 minutes strong, 1 minute walk

2 minutes a little stronger, 1 minute walk

Or another session might be ‘3k builds’ which is a continuous 3k, made up of 1k easy, 1k moderate, 1k strong. Athletes can do this twice or three times through.

Hills

Hills are our friends when it comes to running. They help us develop great run strength, help develop our run form, and help us develop run speed. Sessions can be short and sharp, such as hill sprints e.g. 10 x 1 minute, running strongly up a moderate incline (5%), running very easy on the way down. Or we can use hills during our longer, endurance runs, including undulating terrain during the run. I don’t always prescribe hill sprint sessions, but I would always encourage athletes to include hills, undulations, in their ‘normal’ run sessions.

Strides

These are short accelerations during a run. Essentially, we are accelerating gradually, reaching a nice strong pace, and then slowing back down. They add a little ‘bounce’ to our running, help us develop great run form and include a sprinkling of intensity to an easy run. We often include these at the end of a run – maybe 8 x 30s strides, with 30s easy running in between. Hitting a particular pace isn’t important.

Trail Runs

Off road running, grass, trails, uneven terrain can be great for your run. You run a little slower as you have to be more careful with your step (which is no bad thing for many athletes), you develop ‘stabilising’ muscles that wouldn’t be activated running on the pavement, and they take you away from noise, traffic, people. Athletes often tell me that trail running is ‘good for their soul’.

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How many of these runs do you do regularly? Are there any on there that you would like to get stuck into?

There is another post that should accompany this – to talk about judging intensity when doing these runs. Using Heart Rate Zones, Pace Zones, RPE – we could talk about which measure is ‘best’ for each type of run.

The trick to help you improve your run ability – speed, efficiency, endurance – is to include a good variety of sessions, programmed at the right time. If you would like a run or triathlon programme or training plan that includes a good variety of run training to help you improve, get in touch.

If you have any questions about run training, get in touch?

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Run Training