improvements, often four to six per cent. No surprise there. Interval training has been a favourite of top coaches and runners since the end of World War II. This type of training involves fast intervals of two minutes to 10 minutes at about your two-mile race

improvements, often four to six per cent. No surprise there. Interval training has been a favourite of top coaches and runners since the end of World War II. This type of training involves fast intervals of two minutes to 10 minutes at about your two-mile race

When Runner's World readers were asked to list their essential kit last year, heart-rate monitors came out on top. Unfortunately for the female runner, using a heart-rate monitor is usually an uncomfortable experience, requiring 10 minutes before

. During your second run you should get a higher maximum reading than with any other method – although you or a helper should use a heart rate monitor to take readings throughout the interval, because your pulse may peak before the finish.

:30 your weekly mileage should be 30-35, and you should be clocking a regular 40 miles a week to start the sub-3:00 schedule. Sub-4:30 runners ought to be able to run comfortably three or four times a week by the start of the schedules; and if you’ve never

Gone are the days when runners would rate our efforts based on the colour of their cheeks after a run. Heart-rate monitors are now so easy to use, affordable and accurate that there's no excuse for skipping the science bit in your training. Most

of Runner's World just like you. If you want to bring a discussion back to life, don't be shy: just add a new message at the end of it. Alternatively, start a new thread on the training forum. TRAINING: GENERALGeneralCross-country and trail running - how

information to be useful for runners who simply fancy giving heart-rate monitoring a go. It has a simple stopwatch – start, stop and no lap function – but you can keep a check on your current heart rate, your maximum and your average

at five per cent) and reduce your recovery to three or four minutes.Benefit Conditions you to attack on hills and makes you an explosive hill runner.Bounding up HillsAfter a thorough warm-up, ‘bound’ up the same hill you use for your intervals. As you run

’re all unnecessary fears. What’s more, whether you want to beat an ancient 800m PB set on the grass track at school, or outkick the runner who always sprints past you in local 10Ks, adding speed will be immensely rewarding.Speedwork doesn’t just make you