hard, 1M easy; or speed session (eg 4 x 1K with 200m jog recoveries) RUN 1M easy, 3-4M hard, 1M easy; or speed session (eg 10-12 x 400m with 200m jog recoveries) RUN 1M easy, 4M fartlek, 1M easy Wed SWIM 16-20 x 1 length steady, with 10

for several decades, and in at least 20 species of animals. His favourites are the wallabies and kangaroos that actually consume less oxygen when running fast than when running slowly. Weyand has run more than 60,000 miles himself, with a best 5K of 14:41, so

, especially the day before. A massage can make your legs feel heavy.Q. My schedule advises a 6 x 400m interval session a week before the race. Is there anything to be gained from a speed session this close to race day? Rhiannon GravellA. Doing some paced work

m.For example:> 20-25 x 100m, 15 seconds recovery> 12-16 x 150m, 20 seconds recovery> 8-10 x 250m, 30 seconds recovery> 5-6 x 400m, 60 seconds recoveryTry to keep a consistent swim stroke. As you progress, reduce rest intervals before increasing pace

toward home. Two hours, nothing to it. When I want to increase my training prior to a marathon, I just add another 9/1 segment on the outbound trip. Now the session lasts two hours and 20 minutes, and I hardly notice the difference. Two weeks later, I do

and burns up to 30 per cent more calories to keep up with the demand.How: 4 x 400m hard (max speed), separated by an easy 400m recovery lap; 8 x 200m hard, separated by 200m easy; 4 x 100m hard, walking back to the start between sprints to recover

coaching the forum threeBecky Smith (aka Becky S): Age: 30PBs: half-marathon 1:47; marathon 3:30Targets sub-20 5K; Great North Run in 1.35; London Marathon 2005: 3:15 Mike thinks:Our first target is to work on leg speed. Read moreDawn (aka Hilly)PBs: 10K 42:06

:2846 6:50 7:48 9:3947 6:58 7:58 9:5148 7:07 8:07 10:0249 7:15 8:16 10:1450 7:24 8:26 10:2551 7:32 8:35 10:3652 7:41 8:45 10:4853 7:49 8:54 10:5954 7:57 9:04 11:1055 8:06 9:13 11:2156 8:14 9:22 11:3257 8:22 9:32 11:4358 8:31 9:41 11:5459 8:39 9:50 12:0560

Keep speedwork simple: run at race-paceWildWill – To improve half-marathons and 10-milers, I run one-mile intervals. For 10K, I run 1K intervals, and for anything shorter I do 400m. Likewise, the speed is governed by the race distance I am targeting. For example

, so you can change some specifics when reality sets in."—Jeff Galloway, former Olympic 10,000m runner11. Come ready to play"Fitness has to be fun. If it is not play, there will be no fitness. Play is the process. Fitness is merely the product