away with wearing a thin layer and a thin jacket on top, as I'm not working as hard to keep warm. I was quite worried I'd overheat in them, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I tried running once in my thicker fleece-lined cycling tights once

. In addition I typically swam one or two times a week and cycled one or two times a week. I did suffer in the marathon and found the last quarter very tough. I didn’t have enough decent long runs in the bank and I'm pretty sure my relatively low mileage didn

– this might go against your natural reflexes, but will actually reduce the strain placed on your muscles. Strengthening your ankles and quadriceps through cross-training (cycling or hill-walking for example) and leg-specific exercises can also help reduce your

day and train too hard. Now you’re a bit tired for your next session – which doesn’t go as well as planned. Annoyed, you run the next scheduled easy day a bit harder. "So begins a vicious cycle in which the easy days are done too hard and the quality

focused on hill repeats, a speedwork period, a racing peak, and finally a recovery period before you start all over. No training system is more widely accepted. But critics say that all key training elements can be woven into a one- or two-week cycle

Hard Training Q&AsTRAINING GENERAL• Do I need to take an "easy week" when my average mileage isn’t that high? • Should you try and break through ‘the wall’ in training? • Is it just the cold weather, or am I getting fitter? • How do I overcome

it ever since. – greyhoundA friend who's registered blind runs on her own around places she knows are safe (playing fields, quiet roads, cycle paths, tracks). It's probably a bit boring, sorry, but might sticking to routes you know well help alleviate

– but running one day, cross training the next seems fine if your body isn't complaining. – Jeremy LarcombeHorses for courses...Upper body weights don't count as rest in my running schedule, but I do count swimming as rest and cycling, but not too much, as "half

for a long slogHaving gone through a really annoying phase of shin splints, I got some physio input and they gradually re-engineered my running style. It was a ground-up (well, hip-down) re-think about each muscle group and its role in the cycle

to your cardiovascular system. So, warm up for 10 minutes by pedalling easily on an exercise bicycle (this replaces the warm-up routine outlined earlier), and then alternate very difficult four-minute cycling intervals (they should feel slightly harder