Getting the most from the App
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You are going to be challenging your body in a variety of ways over the duration of this ‘Experienced Runners’ Programme and in this blog we will explain how to get the most from the App and achieve the best results over the next 10 weeks. Try to stick to the plan as closely as possible, however if you can’t do a session on a particular day, there is flexibility to move workouts in your calendar to make the routine work for you. Read our FAQs for instructions about how to do this. As outlined in our What To Expect blog, the workouts you receive will be made up of the following:
High Intensity Interval Training Runs
These sessions are aimed at improving your speed and power and are made up of:
Speed sessions. We’ll tell you how long to run for and at what intensity, in order to improve your speed over time. Ideally you’ll have a flat route for this session
Hill sessions. We’ll tell you how long to run for and at what intensity, in order to improve the power in your legs over time. We’ll need a decent incline for this session
These runs will be in interval format on the App and you will receive a ‘count down’ between periods of work and rest.
Steady State Long Runs
These sessions are all about endurance with a focus on the length of time you are aiming to run for. We’ll be working at a lower intensity than the interval sessions, so just go out and enjoy the run. Ideally choose a nice, flat route for this each week. We’ll tell you how long to run for and at what intensity, in order to improve your endurance.
Core & Stretch Sessions
A strong core is hugely important in ensuring we are running efficiently and to help avoid injury as we up the intensity of our training. One workout per week will be dedicated to building your internal corset of musculature and strengthening your glutes, which help to propel you forwards during your runs. We’ll also give you some effective stretches which help to restore muscles to their ideal length.
Strength & Conditioning
One workout per week will be dedicated to cross training and building the key muscle groups involved in running, helping to strengthen the lower body, which withstands so much force as we run and requires dedicated strength training. Also, a strong upper body is essential for guaranteeing an efficient transfer of energy from your body to your legs so it is important we do not neglect the top half during our strength training.
Running Routes
Over the next few days, take some time to look into a good route for each of these sessions.
Speed: a flat, circuit route of around a mile in length
Hills: a reasonable incline around 500m long (depending on your fitness level and the gradient of the hill). You’ll be running up hill on each effort and your recovery will be a gentle jog or walk back down again in order to repeat. It is likely that you won’t get back to the bottom of the hill in your recovery time and your next period of hard work will begin again midway through your descent. In this case, ensure the hill is long enough to complete a number of runs without getting back to your starting position. If this is not possible, pause the timer on the App until you get to the bottom before restarting.
Steady State Long Run: find an enjoyable route, with as few hills as possible. If you don’t know any local routes Map My Run is a useful resource for scoping out your longer distance runs
It’s important to familiarise yourself with your Heart Rate Zones or RPE Chart and start to gauge the different levels of effort we will be working at. If you are using an activity tracker with slightly different definitions of the zones, try to concentrate on your Heart Rate and the zones you have calculated specifically using our Heart Rate blog.
The App
Take some time to familiarise yourself with the App and how to navigate through a workout.
When you go into a session and click ‘Start Now’ you’ll see a 5 minute warm up video. We strongly recommend you follow our functional warm up routines in real time with the video in order to prepare all of the muscle groups you’ll be working during the session. (Once you have familiarised yourself with the warm up routines you may prefer to do this without the video, simply using the 5 minute timer).
Once you have watched the video, tap the ‘play’ button and do a gentle jog to your starting point for the session. If you get to your starting point sooner, you can tap Fast Forward to take you straight into your first running interval.
If you are a stats person and you’d like to measure the time, distance and maximum speed of each of your intervals, you have the option to do this. At the end of your workout you should rate the session in terms of it's intensity. This can be helpful in assessing how you are performing over the course of the programme.
You’ll start to recognise the difference between how the Interval Sessions (Speed & Hills) and the Steady State Runs are structured in the App. For your intervals, the App will time you during your effort and recovery sets, whereas for your Steady State Long Run you can either choose to set the timer on the app or use your own watch, whichever you prefer. Please note the ‘estimated duration’ indicated for the ‘steady state’ runs and some other workouts may not be accurate. Times given for the interval sessions are precise.
It is important to take some time over the next few days to familiarise yourself with the App and to work out where you are going to run. This will enable you to hit the ground running when next week comes around and you start the sessions. It will be tough but we hope you enjoy the variety of the programme and you see some fantastic results!