Q. Whenever I race, I find that I feel sluggish during the first few miles. Can you give me some tips to speed me up during the all-important opening section of a race? A. The first thing you need to look at is your pre-race warm-up. If you

warm is crucial. If you start shivering, you’ll use your glycogen stores and your muscles will tighten up. Wear old running clothes you’re happy not to see again over your racing gear and, if it’s raining, fashion a plastic bin-bag into a jacket. Try

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

with 20 seconds' rest between efforts, then 4 x 50m race pace effort. Cool-down: 10 x 50m alternating bilateral and catch-up drills. Fri REST DAY CYCLE: Warm-up: 15 minutes steady. Main: 1 hour 15 minutes easy on flats, work hills up to 85 per

strides Race – 10-20K, plus warm-up and -downFINAL WEEK 8M easy Warm up, then brisk 4M 6M, inc 6 x 1 min fast, 2 mins slow 5M easy Rest or 3M jog 25-30 mins easy running and striding RACE DAYPace Key

(or 400m) with 90 secs (or 200m) slow Rest 4M jog with strides Half-marathon or 10k race or timetrial Week 6 (43-47M) Rest or 4M easy 6M easy 9M steady 6M - warm up, then 6 x 3 mins fast, 2 mins slow (or 6 x 800m

, then speed up if you’re not tired Warm up, then 6M at a fast pace, timed 6M fartlek, inc bursts of 200-300m Rest or 5M easy, off-road 4M, jogging only Half-marathon raceWeek 9 5M easy, off-road Warm up, then 6 x 3 mins fast, 2 mins slow (or 6 x 800m

, 10 mins jogWed Warm up, then 12 x 400m at 5K pace with 90 sec recoveriesThu 5 miles easyFri RestSat 20 mins easy, plus 6 x 150m stridesSun Warm up, race 5-8 miles, 10 mins jog recoveryTOTAL: 33-36 milesWeek SixMon 6 miles easy, off-roadTue 7

-6M at 80% max 2M warm-up, then 6 x 800m or 3 mins, with 400m jog recoveries, then 2M cool-down 5-7M easy, inc strides 2M easy, 2M fast, but not 100% Rest 60 mins mixed fartlek 8M easyWeek 2 5-6M with gradual acceleration 2M warm-up, then 5 x 1000m

, with 6-min recoveries 6M easy 8M fartlek on grass, inc 20 x 30 secs (approx) 3M jog 5M, no pressure 3M warm-up, then 5-6M race (not flat-out) WEEK 7 5M easy, off-road Rest 2M jog, then 5-6M at half-marathon pace, then 1M jog 5M easy, inc 8 x 200m