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Before I mention the four sessions that I believe to be most important, it's important to note that your recovery runs can be just as crucial and should not be skipped. The routine I follow for the four most important sessions is usually done on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. I occasionally skip sessions here and there but try my best to do these important ones consistently, week in and week out. They are as follows:
1. Track/Interval Tuesday:
The main session during the week focuses on improving and building your speed. When you first start doing track sessions, the speed work often leaves you stiff, fatigued, and barely able to walk, let alone run the following day. However, as with anything, the more you do it, the more your body gets used to it. Track Tuesdays always hurt just as much, but you become more accustomed to the feeling and recover much quicker.
When aiming to improve times for the 3k, 5k, and 10k distances, shorter and faster intervals are the most beneficial. The ideal track volume for shorter distance goals is typically between 3k-4k or 12-15 minutes. Below are some examples of what these sessions might look like:
20 X 200 meters (30 second recovery)
10 X 400 meters (60 seconds recover)
5 X 800 meters (75 seconds recovery)
3 X 700 meters (75 seconds rest), followed by 7 X 300 meters (45 seconds rest)
5 X 2 minutes (60 seconds recovery), followed by 8 X 30 seconds (30 seconds recovery)
2 X 3 minutes (90 seconds recovery), 2 X 2 minute (75 seconds recovery), 2 X 1 minute (60 seconds recovery), 2 X 30 seconds (30 seconds recovery)
When aiming to improve in the half marathon, marathon, or ultra-marathon distances, longer intervals are essential for building stamina. You should aim for around 6k-8k or 20-28 minutes of track volume. Examples of these sessions include:
20 X 400 meters (60 seconds recovery)
10 X 800 meters (75 seconds recovery)
7 X 1km (90 seconds recovery)
4 X 1mile (2 minutes rest)
5 X 5 minutes (2 minutes rest)
2 X 5 minutes (2 minutes rest), 2 X 4 minutes (90 seconds rest), 2 X 3 minutes (75 seconds rest)
Just in case you were wondering, Kipchoge’s group usually does around 15 km of track volume during their Tuesday session, but let’s completely stay away from that. Try to find a training partner or group for these sessions. It becomes a bit easier when other runners are around. This also usually allows you to find something extra and go a little bit faster.
2. Hill Repeat/Tempo Thursday
Often, runners ask me which is more important: hills or tempo runs. The truth is, they are both equally important. One thing is certain—when I put this to a vote, almost 80% of runners preferred tempo sessions over hills (for obvious reasons). Depending on what you’re training for, one might take precedence for a few weeks, but generally, it’s important to alternate between them each week.
Hill Sprints vs Hill Repeats.
If speed is what you’re after, then hill sprints is the session for you. If stamina is what you’re after, then hill repeats are the way to go.
An example of a typical hill sprint session could look something like this:
14 X 25 second hill sprints (recovery is on the way down)
18 X 20 second hill sprints (recovery is on the way down)
25 X 15 second hill sprints (recovery is on the way down)
An example of a hill repeat session could be as follows:
12 X 40 second hill sprint (recovery is on the way down)
10 X 60 second hill sprint (recovery is on the way down)
8 X 75 second hill sprint (recovery is on the way down)
Hills help you;
Build muscle.
Improve form.
Increase power.
Tempo.
There are many different definitions of what tempo is. I classify tempo running as follows: 85% effort level, a pace somewhere between your 5k and 21k pace. It should feel like you’re ‘working’ but not ‘racing’. You should be able to say a few words but not hold a conversation. When your session is done, you shouldn’t feel as if you have emptied the tank—that’s not the point; save that for racing. I know it’s tricky when doing tempo in a group and it starts getting competitive with the speed constantly picking up, but trust me, you’re far better off sticking to your plan rather than getting caught up in what turns into a race and leaves you fatigued for a few days.
It’s also a great idea to add a ‘float’ within your tempo sessions. This is a section where you reduce your speed by about 10-20%, giving your body a slight break before you start your next tempo set. If short-distance goals are your target, then ideally you want to be doing 4k–10k worth of tempo volume. A typical tempo session for this would be something like:
4 X 1 mile tempo (0.5 mile float between sets)
4 X 2km tempo (0.5 km float between sets)
If you’re aiming for longer distance goals, especially for events like the London or Berlin marathon, which are fast and flat, then longer tempo sessions are crucial in the build-up to successfully achieving your target time. If this is your next goal, I’d highly recommend doing 2 weeks of tempo for every 1 week of hills. A typical marathon tempo session would include anything from 14k to 30k and might look like this:
5 X 3kms (0.5km float between sets)
5 X 4kms (0.5km float between sets)
5 X 5kms (1km float between sets)
Tempo sessions should involve continuous running without taking breaks, using the float as recovery. I firmly believe in and am a massive fan of 'progression tempo' sessions. This approach involves starting at an easier pace and gradually increasing your speed as the run progresses. Running this way helps your body get accustomed to picking up speed as the run continues, which is the mentality my athletes and I adopt at the start of a race. It’s much more enjoyable and effective to run a race this way, aiming for a negative or equal split, rather than going all out from the beginning and hitting a wall halfway through. This session should only feel tough during the last 3k to 4k, at which point you should be going faster than your threshold pace. It's a challenging session to master, but incredibly rewarding when you do.
3. Time Trial or Parkrun Saturday.
This is the session in the week where you put all your training to the test, allowing you to gauge exactly where your current speed and fitness are. I often recommend doing this session on the same route whenever possible. This provides an accurate measure to see whether you’re improving or not, rather than doing your time trial on a different route, which could be a lot slower or quicker. For me, Dulwich parkrun is a favourite. Even though parkruns are generally a ‘fun run’ and not a ‘race,’ it’s a great event to put your fitness to the test with generally some good competition around you. Even though you’re going as hard as you can for this weekly ‘fitness test,’ your times most likely won’t be as quick as if it were an official race. The main difference is that you taper for the race as well as mentally and physically prepare for it.
4. Longer Run.
Regardless of your distance targets, the long run should not be neglected. The distance might vary; for example, someone with short-term goals might have a long run of 10k to 15k, compared to someone with long-distance goals who might do 25k to 35k.
The other three sessions I’ve previously mentioned are ‘harder sessions’. This run should feel like an ‘intermediate’ effort. If you push hard in your long run, it will leave you stiff the next day, which isn’t what you are after and is far from ideal for recovery.
I’m a firm believer in incorporating a ‘Hot Spot’ or a pickup within your longer run. My definition of a hot spot is a 1 km pickup, in the middle of your run, on a nice, fast, flat, or downhill piece of road, done as fast as possible. The point of this is to get your heart rate as high as possible and your legs turning over as quickly as possible. After this 1 km hot spot, if you need to stop and catch your breath, do so, allowing your heart rate to drop before continuing with your run. By only doing 1 hard km within your long run and keeping the rest easy, you should feel relatively fresh on a Monday, ready to tackle the week.
If you have a marathon coming up then I’d recommend doing bigger efforts at marathon pace within these long runs, instead of a 1k Hot Spot.
These are the 4 within a training week which I’d recommend you get in.
Keep it consistent. Fit in recovery all around these and you will improve.
Onwards and upwards,
Boom Shakalaka!
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