What to Expect - Experienced Runners

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Welcome to Day 1 of the 10 Week ‘Experienced Runners’ Training Programme. This 10 week course is for those who already run regularly but would like to improve their performance by running faster times or increasing distance. Hopefully you’ve had a chance to read through your Welcome Pack, but if you haven’t yet, take some time to do this over the next few days as it provides some helpful information about the app and your programme.

This blog will provide a brief outline of what you can expect over the coming weeks.

This is Week 0. It is a ‘Preparation Week’ where you can familiarise yourself with our app and get yourself set up for the weeks ahead. We’ll be sharing blogs and information on the structure and theory behind the plan, the intensity you will be attempting to achieve on each run, the desired heart rate zone or ‘rating of perceived exertion’ you should ideally be working at, and your starting assessment (a 5k Fitness Test). This is all to prepare you and put you in the best place possible to improve your running performance. We will not be asking you to complete any sessions until the weekend but feel free to continue with your training if you have already scheduled sessions in to your diary.

How is each week structured?

Starting next Monday, you will receive 5 workouts each week. These can be broken down into the following sessions:

  • 2 x Higher intensity runs looking to improve speed and power

  • 1 x Longer run at a reduced intensity

  • 1 x Core & stretch session to improve core strength and posture

  • 1 x Strength & conditioning session to increase upper body, lower body and ab strength

The combination of these sessions will improve different aspects of your fitness and will therefore work together to enhance your running performance.

How are the sessions structured?

No matter what session you are doing, it will always start with a comprehensive warm up to prepare your body for the workout ahead. All of the sessions will finish with a stretch to lengthen tight muscles, to allow the heart rate to drop and to return the body to it’s pre-exercise state. Sessions will last anywhere between 30 – 75 minutes. As the weeks progress we’ll be gradually increasing the intensity of the workouts. If you follow the programme, besides the improvement in your cardiovascular system, your whole body will be stronger and in a much better position to smash your PB running times or to push past those distances you may have been stuck at!

How will improvement be measured?

We will begin by finding out what level you are running at currently. Over the weekend we will ask you to run 5k in as quick a time as possible. This will set a benchmark which we can use to compare against. At the end of the training programme we will be asking you to run the same route to see how far you have come.

The next 10 weeks are going to be challenging and you may experience some new types of training which you haven’t done previously. These sessions are all put together to strengthen all those muscles which are vital to running. Done on their own, you may not notice huge benefits but by combining the sessions and ‘cross training’ you will see big differences. Good luck, we’ll be with you all the way.

Andy Letham