All training that we have considered up till now consisted of running at an easy pace, just slightly faster than jogging. It's a pace at which the regular long distance runner doesn't get breathless at all, unless he or she is running up a steep hill. The cardiovascular system is in equilibrium - it's working faster than the state of rest, i.e. greater oxygen intake through quicker breathing and faster heartbeat, but at a moderate rate that can be sustained for a long distance. It's called aerobic training, meaning that you're breathing in oxygen at the same rate as you're using it up through physical activity.
But this type of running is rather slow. If you wish to start taking part in races, and having a target event is certainly a strong motivator for your training, you will probably aim to improve your performance. This you can achieve through quality training. A quality training session consists of a speed session or an endurance-enhancing long run.
Your training schedule should ideally consist of an alternation between quality training and easy recovery runs, including a long run once per week, traditionally during weekends, and at least one day per week of no training at all. You will have by now perfected the 10 km run at an easy pace. It's now time to introduce the speed session.
The main types of speed training are called 'intervals', 'tempo running' and 'fartlek' (a Swedish term meaning speed play).
Intervals consist of brief periods of intense running at an anaerobic rate, i.e. using up oxygen at a higher rate than that at which you can take in through breathing, followed by recovery periods of slow jogging, when you literally have to recover your breath.
A tempo run is midway between your normal 10 km run at an easy pace and a 10 km race - let's say at a moderately fast pace. This is very good training for improving BOTH endurance and speed.
Fartlek, meaning 'speed play', is a training session with varying speeds. You set out at a slow warm-up pace, and after 10 minutes or so speed up for, say, the distance between 5 lamp posts, slow down to a jog along a slight uphill, run at a moderately strong pace until you reach some particlar landmark, slow down again, and keep varying the pace according to your whim. It has the advantage that you can regulate the hard bits according to the way you feel, but you need to take care not to be too lazy, otherwise it wouldn't be a quality session at all.
A typical speed session consists of three phases: the warm up, the speedwork, and the cool down. The reason for the warm-up is fairly obvious, and is implicit in the name. Your muscles, and your body as a whole, need a transitional phase to go from a state of rest to one of hard work. If you start running very fast without a warm-up you risk getting injured. A ten-minute jog is the gentle way to ease into a hard workout.
After the warm-up, it's time to do some stretching. In running it's the leg muscles that do most of the work, and it's those muscles that we need to keep most flexible to reduce the risk of strain injuries. Basically, we need to stretch the calves, the quadriceps and the hamstrings for anything from 15 to 30 seconds. DON'T overstretch, otherwise you would risk injuring yourself, and preferably do your stretching when already warmed up.
The speed-work session itself I will describe in the next section, dealing with interval training and tempo runs.
The cool-down is equivalent to the warm-up, but at the other end of the session. It's the transition from a state of hard work to a state of rest, and facilitates the dissipation of the waste products of anaerobic exertion, especially lactic acid, from your muscles.
So, how often should you do speed training? It depends on your number of training sessions per week. The important principle to keep in mind is the alternation between hard days and easy days. Here are some possible typical training patterns:
4 sessions per weekMon: rest; Tue: 10k easy; Wed: speedwork; Thu: rest; Fri: 10k easy; Sat: rest; Sun: long run
5 sessions per week
Mon: rest; Tue: 10k easy; Wed: speedwork; Thu: 10k easy; Fri: speedwork; Sat: rest; Sun: long run
6 sessions per week
Mon: 10k easy; Tue: 10k easy; Wed: speedwork; Thu: 10k easy; Fri: speedwork; Sat: rest; Sun: long run
The pattern you choose depends on how important it is for you to perform well in races, compared to all other non-running aspects of your life. In my beginner's schedule to running a marathon I'm proposing the easiest option based on 4 sessions per week, but this can easily be 'upgraded' to 5 or 6 per week following the models given above.
In Week 9 of our schedule, I'm introducing the first speed training session, which consists of speed play - a 10km run at a pace varying from a jog to a sprint, according to your whims:
Mon - rest
Tue - 10km, easy
Wed - 10k - fartlek
Thu - rest
Fri - 10km, easy
Sat - rest
Sun - 70 minutes, easy
Enjoy your running!
But this type of running is rather slow. If you wish to start taking part in races, and having a target event is certainly a strong motivator for your training, you will probably aim to improve your performance. This you can achieve through quality training. A quality training session consists of a speed session or an endurance-enhancing long run.
Your training schedule should ideally consist of an alternation between quality training and easy recovery runs, including a long run once per week, traditionally during weekends, and at least one day per week of no training at all. You will have by now perfected the 10 km run at an easy pace. It's now time to introduce the speed session.
The main types of speed training are called 'intervals', 'tempo running' and 'fartlek' (a Swedish term meaning speed play).
Intervals consist of brief periods of intense running at an anaerobic rate, i.e. using up oxygen at a higher rate than that at which you can take in through breathing, followed by recovery periods of slow jogging, when you literally have to recover your breath.
A tempo run is midway between your normal 10 km run at an easy pace and a 10 km race - let's say at a moderately fast pace. This is very good training for improving BOTH endurance and speed.
Fartlek, meaning 'speed play', is a training session with varying speeds. You set out at a slow warm-up pace, and after 10 minutes or so speed up for, say, the distance between 5 lamp posts, slow down to a jog along a slight uphill, run at a moderately strong pace until you reach some particlar landmark, slow down again, and keep varying the pace according to your whim. It has the advantage that you can regulate the hard bits according to the way you feel, but you need to take care not to be too lazy, otherwise it wouldn't be a quality session at all.
A typical speed session consists of three phases: the warm up, the speedwork, and the cool down. The reason for the warm-up is fairly obvious, and is implicit in the name. Your muscles, and your body as a whole, need a transitional phase to go from a state of rest to one of hard work. If you start running very fast without a warm-up you risk getting injured. A ten-minute jog is the gentle way to ease into a hard workout.
After the warm-up, it's time to do some stretching. In running it's the leg muscles that do most of the work, and it's those muscles that we need to keep most flexible to reduce the risk of strain injuries. Basically, we need to stretch the calves, the quadriceps and the hamstrings for anything from 15 to 30 seconds. DON'T overstretch, otherwise you would risk injuring yourself, and preferably do your stretching when already warmed up.
The speed-work session itself I will describe in the next section, dealing with interval training and tempo runs.
The cool-down is equivalent to the warm-up, but at the other end of the session. It's the transition from a state of hard work to a state of rest, and facilitates the dissipation of the waste products of anaerobic exertion, especially lactic acid, from your muscles.
So, how often should you do speed training? It depends on your number of training sessions per week. The important principle to keep in mind is the alternation between hard days and easy days. Here are some possible typical training patterns:
4 sessions per weekMon: rest; Tue: 10k easy; Wed: speedwork; Thu: rest; Fri: 10k easy; Sat: rest; Sun: long run
5 sessions per week
Mon: rest; Tue: 10k easy; Wed: speedwork; Thu: 10k easy; Fri: speedwork; Sat: rest; Sun: long run
6 sessions per week
Mon: 10k easy; Tue: 10k easy; Wed: speedwork; Thu: 10k easy; Fri: speedwork; Sat: rest; Sun: long run
The pattern you choose depends on how important it is for you to perform well in races, compared to all other non-running aspects of your life. In my beginner's schedule to running a marathon I'm proposing the easiest option based on 4 sessions per week, but this can easily be 'upgraded' to 5 or 6 per week following the models given above.
In Week 9 of our schedule, I'm introducing the first speed training session, which consists of speed play - a 10km run at a pace varying from a jog to a sprint, according to your whims:
Mon - rest
Tue - 10km, easy
Wed - 10k - fartlek
Thu - rest
Fri - 10km, easy
Sat - rest
Sun - 70 minutes, easy
Enjoy your running!
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