and was never in my stride. I didn’t get a chance to stride out until things got wider and more spread out and that was only in the last couple of miles. I suppose that enabled me to give up on the stress of a target time and prevented me from hitting the wall

Q. Towards the end of a long run my heels begin to clip each other every few strides. What can I do to prevent this?A. This sounds like a technique and conditioning issue. Running technique is thought to be a natural activity, but natural doesn

’ sessions, which are a type of interval training. You put in a fast burst lasting either 30 seconds or one minute, then drop to a steady jog to recover for the next one. If you don’t like using a watch, you can base the burst on a certain number of strides

developed sophisticated variations on the basic approach.Pump up your stride rate to 180 per minute At the 1984 Olympics, Daniels and his wife, Nancy, analysed the stride frequencies of runners from 800m to the marathon. At distances from 5,000m on, the top

the second time around. If not, you've got two obvious options: take more time off, and/or schedule an appointment with a sports medicine specialist.3. Consider Shortening Your StrideThis comes as a bit of a surprise because it's not discussed much in running

it so just never stopped again. – Speedy Snail!Start by conquering the mental mountainsI approach hills like a challenge. I drop down a gear, shorten my stride, slow down, get my head down and keep going. I will not let a hill beat me, and if I have

(approx 35 mins) easyTue 4M (33 mins) slow with a few gentle stridesWed 5M (40 mins) slowThu 4M (30 mins) steadyFri RestSat 5M (42 mins) easy or parkrunSun 12M (100 mins) slowWeek Two (41M)Mon 4M (35 mins) easyTue 9M of 1.5M jog and strides, then 3 x 2M

miles a week, including at least some fast striding or fartlek.The difficult bit is knowing how long it will take to adjust to the faster tempo of mile running. In the four-week programme below, I have introduced two fast sessions in the first week

Rest 2.5M warm-up, then 6 x 600m or 2 mins, with 400m or 2-3 min jog recoveries, then 2.5M cool-down 6M easy, inc 8 - 10 x 100m strides 3-4M fast but controlled Rest 6-8M easy, inc hills 6-7M easyWeek 2 Rest 2-2.5M warm-up, then 5 x 800m or 3 mins

pace, warm-downThu 6-8 miles, steady paceFri RestSat 4 miles easy, with some fast stridesSun Warm up, 5-6 mile race, plus 4-5 miles steadyTOTAL: 45 miles approxWeek FourMon 6 miles easy, off-roadTue 6 x (800 + 400) at 5K pace with 90 secs