I’m sure every athlete and coach has their favourite or ‘go-to’ workout for different distances. Most are borrowed, or personally tried and tested.

I wish they guaranteed a fast time, but there is always more to it, than just one session. But, if you’re looking for some hand me down sessions, here’s a couple of my mine you can have. Pass them on if you like!

My belief is that to have confidence in your race day pacing plan… you need to train at goal pace. The way to best do this is through interval sessions, with breaking down the race distance.

Here are a couple of simple session suggestions for 5km and 10km distance.

Saucony UK and James Thie coached athlete Tom Marshall literally flying to a finish line. Photo: Robert Gale (@awv)

5km:

Session 1: 4 to 5 day before race day: 5 x 1km aim @ 3 to 5 seconds under goal pace.

• 16min aim or under: 2mins rest after each 1km.

• 16 to 20min aim:  2.5mins rest after each 1km.

• 20min plus aim:  3mins rest after each 1km.

Session 2: To sharpen for important track 5km race, 5 to 7 days before race day: 3 sets of 1200m (@2sec per 400m faster than goal 5km pace)  then 400m @1500m/mile pace.

• 16mins or under aim: 1min rest after 1200m & 4mins after 400m.

• 16 to 20mins aim: 90secs rest after 1200m & 5mins after 400m.

• 20mins plus aim: 2min rest after 1200m & 5mins after 400m.

Going a little longer

10km:

Session 1: 12-14 days before race day: 10 x 1km @ your goal race pace.

• 33mins or under aim: 60secs rest after each 1km.

• 34 to 40mins aim: 75secs rest after each 1km.

• 40mins plus aim: 90secs rest after each 1km.

Session 2: 9-12 days before race day:

• 33mins or under aim: 7 x 4mins with 90secs rest after each rep.

• 34 to 40mins aim:  6 x 5mins with 2mins rest after each rep.

• 40mins plus aim: 5 x 6mins with 3mins rest after each rep.

For more 10km chat… join me on the 9th June @7pm for a Welsh Athletics Webinar. Aimed at all athletes and coaches looking to grow their knowledge of art of 10k training and racing.

The webinar won’t just be about single sessions but cover a much wider look at the 10k distance. This will include:

• Explore the physical and mental components required to run a 10k.

• Discuss training for a 10k including session examples and training block planning.

• Explore 10k race preparation.

• Dissect the executing the race.

Saucony UK ambassador James Thie is supporting the launch of the Endorphin Pro. He is also hosting home-based circuit training sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays at 6pm. You can find the sessions here. 

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patron. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post James Thie’s go-to 5 & 10k sessions appeared first on Fast Running.

Recently Fast Running asked a handful of experts for their top simple tips for runners and Coach Newport was someone who responded. But, as with the vast majority of coaches within the UK, the senior endurance coach for Cheltenham Harriers went above and beyond.

Very active as @coachnewport on Twitter, the GB Duathlon team manager has a great bunch of athletes under his wing in the Cheltenham area and does open group sessions every Tuesday at the Prince of Wales stadium in Cheltenham.

Without further ado here’s Coach Newport’s top 15 tips for distance runners.

1) Coaches are your co-pilot, you’re driving

Have ownership of your experience in the sport. Coaches are like the satnav in your car.

You tell us where you want to go, we offer you one or more routes to get you there, you select the route that you’d like to take, then we give you directions & traffic updates along the way.

2) Set realistic goals

Set sensible goals. Too many athletes suffer from either NOT setting any goals at all, or setting ones that are way below their potential or unrealistically high.

3) Have the right environment

Ensure that your club/coaching environment is right for you.

Assess your Club vs Goals and ask these questions: (a) do I have the right level of training partners? (b) is the coach going to get me there? (c) do I have the right level of competition?

4) Easy means easy

Train hard when you’re asked to train hard. If you train hard on your easy or recovery days, you’re not doing yourself any favours.

5) Run fast

So long as you’re not in a recovery week, train fast at least twice per week.

Try to vary your training paces, rather than run sessions at one pace all season. For instance, if your goal is 10km, you need to train regularly at 3km, 5km, 10km and tempo pace throughout the year.

6) Run long

Don’t skip your Long Run. You should be looking to run at least 75mins as your longer run each week.

Most good 10km runners are comfortable running 90-120mins, depending on their racing calendar.

7) Use races for long runs

Don’t be afraid to run longer hard runs. Not enough athletes use local races as training opportunities.

It’s easy to get 60mins hard running done, within a local 1/2 marathon. Start easy, building into it until you’re at tempo, then hang tight until you need to back off again.

8) Pace yourself

Master your pacing. Any idiot can blow up in every race or session. Start sensibly, finish hard.

9) Consistency is key

Train consistently. There are no “hacks”, “shortcuts” or  “magic sessions” that will get you there. Real, lasting progress doesn’t happen overnight.

Crash training is more likely to break you than make you.

10) Build steady

Build your volume & intensity steadily. No big jumps.

11) Have fun

Enjoy your sport. If you’re enjoying your training & racing, then you’re more likely to have a positive mindset.

12) Power of the mind

Nurture this positive mindset. It really doesn’t matter how much potential you have, as you’ll never get the best out of yourself.

A good training & racing brain, combined with confidence, will help you hit your targets.

13) Learn from those you chase

Learn from those who are already at the level you’re chasing. Talk to them, talk to their coaches, train with them every now and again.

There is so much to learn, if you ask the right people, the right questions.

14) Dear diary…

Keep a training log. Without one, how can you ever look back & understand where/how it went right or wrong.

15) Know what you need

Things that WILL help you, but you don’t always NEED. 1. Speedwork 2. Strength and conditioning 3. Hills 4. Good nutrition 5. Racing flats 6. A heart rate monitor This list is endless.

Don’t be sh*t

According to several on Twitter who have worked with Coach Newport there should also be the edition of one last tip. Don’t be sh*t. Simple enough that one.

RELATED: 10 simple tips from 10 experts

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The post 15 quality pieces of advice from Coach Dave Newport appeared first on Fast Running.

A February 2018 study undertaken by a team of Danish physiologists, investigated “whether improved running economy, with a period of speed endurance training and reduced volume, could be related to adaptations in specific muscle fibres”.

Whilst the researchers were looking more at the adaptations of different muscle fibres, the outcomes of the physiology tests makes interesting reading.

The study took 20 trained runners, 14 male and six female, and set them a 40-day training period with 10 sessions of speed endurance training alongside a 36% reduction in their running volume. The 10-speed sessions comprised of five to 10 x 30-sec maximal running efforts.

The speed endurance training formed part of an eight-day cycle of training, with the sessions on days two and six.

The participants started with six 30 second efforts, separated by three 1/2 minutes of walking recovery before progressing to 10 intervals of 30 seconds for the second half of the study.

Before the training began the participants undertook tests such as an incremental test to exhaustion, a muscle biopsy, running at 60% VO2Max and a 10km time trial. The last two were undertaken in both normal and depleted glycogen states to compare the difference.

At the end of the 10 weeks, the tests were performed again.

What were the results?

After the 10 weeks of reduced running volume and the specific 30-second effort sessions, both tests with normal glycogen levels and depleted, saw improvements in 10km time trial performances.

In the first test (glycogen levels in a normal state) there was a 3.2%, improvement, with the average 10k time dropping from 45.2 minutes to 43.7 minutes.

With glycogen depleted, participants in the 10-week study saw an average improvement in their 10k time trial of 3.9%. From 47.7 minutes beforehand compared to 45.8 minutes afterwards.

VO2 Max stayed the same after the study, but vVO2 Max, the velocity at VO2 Max, saw an increase. Basically the speed endurance sessions increased the efficiency of the runners at top end speed and there was more bang for your buck.

Running economy was improved in the 60% VO2 Max test and the 10km time trial. Showing you don’t have to be a sprinter to get the benefits of running at maximal effort. An improvement of the top end economy also sees efficiency at lower speeds improved.

Considerations?

It is important to note there was no control group of normal progression to compare the findings. The benefits seen could have taken place with the normal training of the subjects as well.

There is no mention of whether the participants in the study had previously undertaken any speed endurance training. The potential benefits to a runner who regularly undertakes similar training already was not discussed but it could be hypothesised benefits would be lessened.

Many athletes and coaches use high-speed efforts to improve running economy and this study reinforces the reasoning behind. Running at full speed for short bursts can improve running economy at all speeds.

The post Study shows 30 second efforts can improve 10k time appeared first on Fast Running.

It’s a wide scope, but the best distance runners, from elites to the dedicated club athletes, can excel at them all. For me, the training doesn’t really vary too much, except of course for the marathon which is a different animal altogether, but more on that later.

As an elite athlete I have ran my best half marathon 68:13 off 10k training so I believe that not much has to change apart from a few tweaks. Though I am fortunate that I have a more natural capacity for endurance and can get away with the ‘less is more’ approach – so you should note what worked for me may not work for everyone.

Some people need to run high mileage to see results and build leg strength. However, speed is what I work on more often because it doesn’t come as naturally to me. So I place an emphasis on speed sessions in my 10k training and focus on hill reps to build my leg strength instead of excessive high mileage.

Typically it’s 80 miles a week max and I definitely think this plays to my strengths.

10k training vs. half marathon training

More time on the track is needed to run a fast 10k, just good basic speed training. Whereas, for a half marathon it is a good idea to include extra hill reps for added leg strength. Speed comes from strength though so the two are also intertwined and for me a vital component of both distances. The more strength you can get into the legs the better for track running and vice versa.

Half marathon training is more about strength endurance. So sessions that get your legs extra tired in the last few reps will get you used to the last 3 miles of the race when it starts to bite. A half marathon session could be a basic 10k or hill session with an added 2-mile tempo before and after to get the legs used to running with lactic acid in them.

There’s method to the madness and it makes sense and honestly, your legs will thank you for it in the long run.

Typical session for 10k distance

12-15 x 400m (1-minute recovery) 3 mins recovery. Followed by 5x200m (to get speed sharpness and get those fast twitch fibres working). I run the reps as close to maximum effort as I can and typically aim for 68-69 seconds per 400m and 31-32 seconds on the 200m.

This is not super fast by some standards but the best endurance runners are the ones who can recover the best from their efforts and for me, a shorter recovery makes no odds to how fast I run due to my ability to stop lactic acid building up! My advice is to play to your strengths though to get the most out of your own ability.

A simple formula has served me well in the past

Track session once a week, 5-mile tempo run on a Thursday followed by a hill session at the weekend. The secret is to keep it simple and remember that consistency is key. Another rule is aim to run each rep at 10-15 seconds a mile quicker than your current race pace so a key session of 6 x 1 mile for a 5:15 per mile pace runner should be done at 5-minute miling ideally in order to make the necessary improvements.

This will give you an accurate indication of what you can get down to in a race if you have patience in your programme. Remember nothing happens overnight and there are no shortcuts to success.

600m reps are also good to test speed endurance as an extended effort from the 400s. Then you can build it up to 800s, 1k’s and so on! The fitter you get the better you will be able to handle it. If you want to keep improving it shouldn’t get easier as you just stronger so upping the bar is essential.

Other sample sessions for 10k are 8 x 600m, 6 x 800m and 6-8 x 1k. Elite athletes can add more reps, but these type of sessions are the bread and butter of a good 10k club runner’s training. Nothing cute or fancy just plain basic reps with a minute or 90 secs recovery.

Building a base for peak performance

Pyramid sessions are also great and my personal favourite is 5 x 3 mins, 2 mins and 1 mins off 90 secs recovery. This is another signature session for 10k running (grass or track). Aim to get quicker on each distance by 15 seconds a mile if possible to get the best from the session. This will really get the speed into your legs. I swear by this session as a good indicator before a 10k race.

Getting the balance right

Training for the 10k distance isn’t rocket science and mostly common sense. After sessions in the evening, run recovery runs the next day at 1 minute to 90 secs slower than race pace. These runs are meant to just bump up the mileage and get the legs used to running when fatigued (otherwise no more use than an ornament). This extra mileage won’t make you any faster but it will help you recover better for the next day.

Recovery runs are especially important for marathon training, but not mandatory for 10k training, as long as you are including the four basic runs of a speed session, hill session, tempo and a long run with some easy runs.

The long run should be a minimum of an hour for 10k runners depending on your level of performance. I do at least 13 miles as a happy medium and ironically it is the magic number to strike a balance for 10k and half marathon training but it’s not essential and you can get away with 10 miles.

From my own personal experience, I ran my fastest half marathon off 10k training. The only thing I did differently was a big volume tempo session two weeks out from the big day. This was 3 miles at 5:40 per mile pace, 3 miles at 5:30, 3 miles at 5:15 and 3 miles at 5:00 pace.

You can tailor this to suit your own pace depending on what time you are aiming for. My advice is to run a 10k three weeks out from a half marathon, and it can form part of your training programme.

Everything in between

10-milers are a happy medium and I am a big fan of the iconic Great South Run (cough…that I won this year). Although not a standard race distance you can use it to your advantage to see where you are with your training before stepping up to 13.1 miles.

The half marathon can be a difficult distance to master and why I favour using a 10-mile race as a stepping stone. This allows me to bring the speed through 10k without the consequences of hitting the last 3 miles of a half marathon and suffering from a misjudgement of pace.

Perfect pacing is required for the half marathon which is why it requires significant training, discipline and strategy to complete but without the added quirks of running a marathon.

Marathon ( my humble advice on training)

I haven’t ran a marathon, but I have actually trained for the 26.2 miles twice without actually getting to the start line.

A lot more organisation is required for the training, nutrition has to be considered, fueling has to be tested en route and it requires a much more detailed approach. Races must be used as training runs and tapering down is not really an option. Most top marathon runners run more than 100 miles a week although in my opinion quality is always better than quantity.

You have to do the work or else you will get found out after 20 miles. In my humble experience, my training changed quite dramatically and tempo runs were extended to 10 miles plus. It really was a grind to the point that I was running half asleep. It is a totally different mentality and the training is so much more of a sacrifice. Dedication has to be 100%.

On building up the mileage you have to do it very gradually from 15 one week, 16 the next, 18, 20 until eventually some even run up to 24 but most never run the full distance until the actual day of the race. It’s unbelievable to have that kind of faith that your legs will cover the distance on race day but most do and trust in the training programme. I take my hat off to anyone that runs a marathon; club runner or elite – but after the sacrifices, the rewards are worth it.

Enjoyed reading this?
Check out Gemma Steel’s other articles: Cross country is a true test of strength grit and determination, and The holy trinity: pilates, yoga and body balance.

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patreon. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post Gemma Steel: how I train for a 10k and half marathon appeared first on Fast Running.