Whatever your level, with the right balance of a well planned training regime, determination, hard graft and a bit of luck you’ll probably achieve the best you can. For the first year my only training tactic was to run more often and to increase the distance covered, and that alone was enough to improve my marathon best by an hour. But after a while I started reading running magazines and books that would become the source of information about training techniques and strategies necessary to progress as a runner. In the early days I had to try and understand some of the terminology and language of the training schedules. What was interval training ?, what was fartlek ? what were reps, hill work, LSD ? For anyone in the early stages of what may become a lifelong running habit, I’d strongly recommend keeping a diary. Not only does it become the place to record the many long hard miles covered over the years, but also to detail different training schedules and to gradually build up a history of what does and doesn’t work for you.
Consistency is the key. Emphasis on particular areas of training – strength, endurance, recovery, speed etc, will change at different times of the year – this is often determined by your racing plans and ambitions. However, a familiar structured routine to the week needs to become your way of life. The majority of distance runners will recognise a pattern that looks something like: Long run of the week on Sunday (building strength and endurance) rest or gentle day Monday (recovery) some form of speed work, intervals / fartlek Tuesday, rest or gentle day Wednesday, quality session such as hill repetitions for strength or a fast tempo run over a shorter than race distance on Thursday, Friday off if racing on Saturday, Race Saturday, or a session that simulates a race. There are a few variations on the principle of interval training, or repetitions (reps) as they’re often known, but essentially it involves repeating sets of alternating fast running with slow recovery stretches. The fast bits train the body to become used to moving at a quicker tempo, the short recovery builds up the body’s ability to recover from strenuous effort and be ready again quickly for a renewed effort. Slightly different effects will be achieved by the different length, pace, intensity involved in the hard effort, the length of the recovery phase and of course the number of repetitions of the hard/easy cycle undertaken. These sessions if executed properly can bring about significant improvement, but beware not to overdo it, as fatigue and injury can result. A track is the ideal place for reps – you’ll need to experiment a bit to find what workload you are able to deal with. Sessions like 8 x 800m or 12 x 400m with equal recoveries worked for me, but many people allow themselves less recovery than that. Fartlek is a really useful way to incorporate speed work into your training if you don’t have a track at your disposal, and also if you prefer a little less discipline. It’s the Swedish term for “speed play” and is best described as “go as you please” running – have an easy stretch, then pick out a landmark a few hundred metres away and push hard to that, slow down, then hit the next hill hard etc etc. Best practiced off road, ideally in fields and woodland, it can be a great workout that feels like fun!
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