This plan will be based on 4 runs per week with the longer run on Sunday (I do it on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday with a complete rest day on Monday and alternative training on Wednesday and Friday). You will need to make the changes that work best for you – do less if that works best for you, don’t be afraid to take more rest days or switch the days around.
Feel free to PM me if you need specific advice on any aspect of the plan. If you have Strava then don’t forget to post your runs there also. The plan is based around a plan from McMillan Running that I’ve used before and I’m currently doing again and is fairly generic but offers improvements to relative beginners and advanced runners.
The 1st session is: Easy run (45min – 1 hour).
A simple one to start but remember this is an easy run, not a race. These sessions are the backbone of any plan and are used to enhance your endurance. The pace should be comfortable enough that you don’t struggle to breath at any point, you should be able to have a comfortable conversation in full sentences. You need to get good at a comfortable pace so that we can adjust pacing for the different sessions. If you have a HR monitor check it at the end to make sure you didn’t overdo this type of session – it will also help you to determine your pace for the future sessions.
Session 2: Speed Workout.
10-16 repeats of 400m with a 3min recovery in between. Include a warm-up and Warmdown. The 400m sections should be hard but you should be able to maintain the same pace on the last one as you did on the first. Use the 3 min recovery wisely to bring your heart rate right down. These can be jogged or walked but try not to disintegrate into a heap on the floor (your hard sections are too hard if you’re doing this). You might find that you can jog the first few recoveries but need to walk towards the end – this is fine, the 400m is the important part. This can be a long session, set yourself a target on the number of repeats but if you need to cut back don’t worry as you’ll have a benchmark for later sessions.
This is a good session to programme into your watch beforehand.
For ease of reference, once round either the larger or smaller lake at 8-lakes is roughly 400m. Or you could use the path to Dobbies, but try to find a fairly level path & use the same path for the whole session (using your jog to and from as the warm-up, warmdown).
Session 3: Easy Run.
Same as session 1.
Session 4: Long Run.
About the same pace or slower than the easy runs from this week. 1-1 ½ hours in total.