It is easy to get into the habit of doing the same type of run over and over again. The same track, same pace, same distance can be a great way to get started but after a while it can get a bit boring and demotivating. To add to that, since you are only doing the one type of running, you become weaker in other areas of running and find it hard to progress your runs.
Here are a few ways you can mix it up to keep your running fun and keep the results going!
Fartlek Runs - the Swedish word for Speed play, this is basically continuous running just at different paces. This can include running faster than usual, your normal running pace, going a little slower than usual and even a walk to recover. Here are 3 examples:
30 second jog, 30 sec sprint, 15 sec walk. Keep repeating in any order and make sure not to skip the sprints too often! 😉
30 sec sprint/ 90,60,45,30 sec jog. Alternate between a sprint and a jog. Each time you jog work your way down the jog times list. So for example, sprint 30/ jog 90, sprint 30/ jog 60, sprint 30/ jog 45 etc
3 min fast run, 1 min recovery. Recovery here is a very slow pace or even a walk.
You can repeat these fora few efforts. Aim for 20-40 mins running depending o how you feeling.
Hill Runs - A great way to build up strength in your legs as well as improve your pain tolerance. Mentally, these can be quite tough. Here are 3 ways to incorporate these in:
Hill repeats: Find the one hill and sprint up it for 30-45 secs. Walk back down for recovery and aim to complete 8-10 efforts. These are great for developing strength and power.
Continuous hill runs up the one hill. similar as the one above but this time you will jog to recover. Naturally you won't be able to run up the hill as fast as the 1st example but just try keep moving and push through as much as possible.
Various continuous hills. Find a track that has many hills in it or make a course of your own around some local streets. This is a great way to improve endurance and still get in some hill running without having to constantly run the same hill.
Tempo runs - These are runs which help push out your lactate threshold or the point at which you start to burn in the legs. These are generally at a steady pace a little slower than your fastest 5km. Here are 2 examples:
Run at a pace 15-30 secs below your best 5km time for 20-30mins.
Run for 35-45 mins at a steady but comfortable pace.
Progression Runs - These are runs which start off slow but build up in speed. These are great to get use to difference speeds of running.
5 mins easy, 5 mins moderate pace, 5 mins slightly faster and 5 mins at your fastest.
10 mins easy, 10 mins moderate, 5 min fast push.
20 mins easy, 10 mins moderate, 5 mins fast.
Long Runs - Great way to build endurance in the legs. It is important to do these at a pace slower than what you normally would go out and run. Doing these too hard can lead to burn out, especially if you have multiple runs in a week.
Run for 45 - 60 mins.
If you run 4-6km, add 2-4km at a slower pace.
If you run 6-8km, add 3-5km at a slower pace.
if your week consists of a few variations of these runs, you will be on your way to improving your running ability. If you need help tailoring it to your running ability, just reach out!
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