(your medium run) and 20 minutes (your short, break-a-sweat recovery run). Space them out through the week, making sure you don’t do more than three in a row. The long run is particularly important, as anything over 45 minutes gives a boost to your

together. My recovery was a bit of a rush job and putting things into the right alignment wasn’t the top priority. So when I’d started training again and was having injury problems, I opted to have two more operations, to have my right leg re

by increasing the number of intervals and/or reducing the recovery time.Benefit Boosts leg-muscle power, giving you quicker, longer strides.Hard HillsFor this session you need an undulating loop which includes a variety of climbs and descents, rather than a

facility, to save wearing two watches. Some models also have a countdown alarm, which is useful if you’re doing a structured session and want to know when to start and finish your intervals and recovery. Another useful stopwatch function is splits, which

often see round figures quoted in general guides, ranging from 70-90 per cent of MHR. Unfortunately, the reason they’re so vague is that – as we’ve found out – we’re all different.In the early days, you’d have needed a physiological lab test to find

to slow dramatically. You can assess your progress by seeing how far you get in your reps at the set heart rate. You will find not only that heart rate drops quicker in your recovery period as you get fitter, but also that you will maintain a faster pace

TRAINING: GENERAL | Long runs | Speedwork | Hillwork | Heart rate | TRAINING FOR RACING | Marathon | CROSS-TRAINING | Miscellaneous | CreditsThese are highlights and frequently asked questions from our training forums. They were created by members

20 minutes, do 20- or 30-second bursts of high-intensity effort (alternating with 30 seconds of recovery); then cool down for five minutes. Follow that with two sets (10-15 repetitions each) of these three plyometric (explosive jumping) moves, which

workouts that will ultimately make you a stronger runner and faster racer. As a general rule, you need at least one easy recovery run after every hard session you do.Fast FixesTo rein yourself in on easy runs, wear a heart-rate monitor on all recovery days

training and racing.Thursday: 2 x 800m at goal race pace, with equal time jog recovery between The goal is to run a mile's worth of distance at the pace you think you'll be able to maintain on race day. This short session will help you determine what your