3 tips to improve your running – tip 3/3

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March 20, 2013 by Brett Norris

Tip 3 – Run selection

The majority of people I speak to will run a similar distance with the aim of enhancing fitness for general wellbeing, sports etc. So, let’s say you are running 5km each time you go to the gym or go outside – there will come a point when your body can complete 5km easily, so you decide to run at a faster pace and drive down your time. However, inevitably there will come a point where you are no longer reducing your overall time by a sufficient amount and you begin to plateau. My advice? Don’t do this to start with, read below and use this schedule as a skeleton to help your training.

Based on a 7 days training week (sun – sat)

Sunday – long, slow distance

This is the day when you run your 5km, changing up the routes as much as possible and aim to turn your 5km to 6km, 7km, 8km, 9km and so on. Generally speaking, we usually have most free time on the weekends, so this is usually the best opportunity to perform the long, slow run and increase distance without the mid-week time constraints.

This is run below your race pace if you run competitively. If you run purely to ‘keep fit’ then simply put, this run should be seen as a ‘jog’ that has you focusing on distance as opposed to speed.

Tuesday – interval training/hill runs/fartlek training

I have provided explanations for each below:

Interval training
The aim of this session is to increase the speed of your long, slow distance run by increasing your tolerance to higher levels of intensity. I have given a very simplistic idea of the layout of an interval session below:

(I am presuming tension release exercises and dynamic stretching have been performed by this point)

10min jog/warm-up

2mins slow – a speed/pace at which you could comfortably complete the entire run (whether that be 30mins, 45mins etc).

2mins fast – a speed whereby by the end of the interval you are ready for your slow interval – this should not be easy!!

This can be repeated as much as you can bare! I would personally suggest to aim for 8 – 10 sets.

Additional suggestions for interval training:

– the rest period is dependant on your fitness level – you begin once you feel you can adequately complete the level. At the same time make sure you push yourself, train efficiently and effectively.

– for novice runners this interval session may begin as a brisk walk (slow interval) and a light jog (fast) interval. Once again, just make sure you are asking the most of yourself throughout.

– try these intervals out:

Please note these are more suitable to seasoned runners

200m x 16 (stop when you can no longer maintain a similar intensity/time during the ‘fast’ interval)
The ‘slow’ period is the same amount of time taken to complete the 200m ‘fast’ run

400m x 12 (stop when you can no longer maintain a similar intensity/time during the ‘fast’ interval)
The ‘slow’ period is the same amount of time taken to complete the 400m ‘fast’ run

600m x 8 (stop when you can no longer maintain a similar intensity/time during the ‘fast’ interval)
The ‘slow’ period is the same amount of time taken to complete the 600m ‘fast’ run

800m x 6 (stop when you can no longer maintain a similar intensity/time during the ‘fast’ interval)
The ‘slow’ period is the same amount of time taken to complete the 800m ‘fast’ run

Hill runs

The aim of this session is to increase leg strength and develop your tolerance of hills. If you are planning on running a hilly course for an upcoming event it is not wise to purely focus on flat road running as the difference in intensity can be staggering. Hill running is also a good way to give variance to your training and improve your performance on flat routes.

I would suggest that a hill of 10% incline or more would be suitable for this training and once again, if you are luckily enough to be located near hills or don’t mind travelling, try to mix up the hills you use with different gradients and lengths.

I have outlined an example of a basic hill session below:

Once again I assume you have already performed release work and dynamic stretches by this point.

10 min warm-up

Hill sprints x 10
rest period is a very light jog back down the hill to your start position before turning and sprinting again

10min cool-down

I apologise for stating the obvious but the number of sets would depend on the size, length of the hill you’re running.

Fartlek training

Fartlek is a Swedish term meaning ‘speed play. This is the form of interval training that most people find confusing as it has a lack of structure in comparison to standard interval training.

The aim of this session is to enhance your speed and endurance.

This training is likely to be dependant on your location as your location will no doubt determine your markers you are to use. For most people accustomed to running in parks or on streets, you may use buildings, structures or things such as trees and lakes to determine your intervals. However, don’t use dogs as this surprisingly will not work too well!

There is no right and wrong with this type of training, you decide when you are going to sprint/jog/fast jog etc and for how long/often. The only point to consider is that you must feel like you are pushing yourself but experience helps with this form of training – don’t expect the perfect session first time around.

My personal advice would be to begin with a 20-30 minute fartlek session and practice the format until you feel ready to begin increasing your time/distance. Play around with differing speeds for differing durations and allow the body enough time to recover.

Thursday – tempo training

The aim of this session is to enhance speed over distance by increasing your lactate threshold (LT). Your LT is the point at which the body begins to fatigue (due to a build up of lactate and hydrogen ions in the muscles) and your performance begins to rapidly drop off.

Performing regular tempo sessions will help raise your LT meaning you can run at a faster pace for a longer period of time. This training session is commonly preferred to the previously mentioned interval training when looking at endurance events such as half marathons and beyond. There is a belief that the results of this training will do more for overall performance (in terms of time) than the sprint training involved in intervals. Having said this, it is always best to judge what works for you and having the 2 different sessions in a week gives added variety and helps prevent boredom.

Please note that this is a more advanced training session and something that you should definitely build up towards. I have outlined an example of a tempo session below:

Once again I assume you have already performed release work and dynamic stretches by this point.

If you are training for 5km then your tempo will build up to:

10 – 15 minute warm-up

Up to 1 mile performed at comfortably hard intensity (can be repeated with a 5-10 minute easy jog in between)

suitable cool-down

If you are training for 10km then your tempo will build up to:

10 – 15 minute warm-up

Up to 2 miles performed at comfortably hard intensity (can be repeated with a 5-10 minute easy jog in between)

suitable cool-down

If you are training for a half marathon (13.1 miles) then your tempo will build up to:

10 – 15 minute warm-up

Up to 3 miles performed at comfortably hard intensity (can be repeated with a 5-10 minute easy jog in between)

suitable cool-down

If you are training for a full marathon (26.2 miles) then your tempo will build up to:

10 – 15 minute warm-up

Up to 6 miles performed at comfortably hard intensity (can be repeated with a 5-10 minute easy jog in between)

suitable cool-down

N.B. the comfortably hard intensity is equivalent to approx. 85% max heart rate ( will have to perform an exercise induced max heart rate test to work this out accurately), though, this is dependant on the individuals physiology.