Have you completed the club beginners’ programme or are otherwise able to run 5k?
Want to maintain your running or even to run further and faster?
NextStep Improvers will aim to progress Eagles from running 5.5k to running 10k (or to keep running at around 5 to 7k) and to provide an introduction to hills and speed work.
It is difficult to write a generic training plan because people will have done different amounts of running and have different availabilities. Here are some useful tips
· Start where you are and increase the amount / intensity of the running gradually.
· Listen to your body - if you are tired or have a niggle, then rest or reduce the amount of running.
· If you have time, it is good to progress to running three times a week with a rest day in between.
· Try to include some strength work - squats, lunges etc - or other cross-training to reduce the risk of injury – this will be included in the Monday 10am sessions for daytime Improvers while evening Improvers will be offered hill sprints on Wednesdays 22 April and 13 May at 7.30pm
· If you are aiming to increase your distance, the most important training run is the "long run"
o evening progression using club runs is 6k, 7.5k and then 10k on a Saturday
o daytime progression using runs around the beginners session on Thursdays at 10am has more flexibility to do a gradual increase
o guidance for progression is to stay at the 5.5k level for January, increase to 7k at the end of February and progress to 10k around 15 March
· It is also good to do some sort of speed or hills session - shorter distance but higher intensity.
· The third run could be parkrun - not as long as your long run but possibly run slightly faster.
· "Drop-down" weeks in which you reduce the amount of running are a good idea.
· The list of club training options is precisely that – so don’t try to do everything
o choose from the available list
o or do your own thing, on your own or with other people.
· Daytime runners can do Mon 10am, Thu morning (exact arrangements depending on whether or not you want to be involved with beginners) and parkrun.
· Evening runners can do Mon 7.30pm, parkrun and ONE of Wed evening (exact arrangements depending on whether or not you want to be involved with beginners) OR Thursday 7.30pm hills (unfortunately, NextStep Improvers are probably not yet ready to run on two consecutive days so Wed 7.30pm run cannot be combined with Tuesday track or Thursday hills)
If you’ve already done a few short club runs or parkruns and are free on Wednesday evenings or Thursday mornings, then the combination of beginners and a club or daytime run can also help to extend your distance.
The target for both daytime and evening NextStep Improvers will be to achieve 10k by for Osterley 10k on 6th June https://osterleypark10k.co.uk/ Ealing Eagles 10k on Saturday 2 May http://www.ealingeagles.com/10k/ is only seven weeks away so may be a bit tight though you may be able to make use of the eight week plan set out below if you feel you are at the stage to start week 2 on w/c 16 March.
If you are on facebook and want a forum to discuss topics at a suitable level for you, from training plans to diet, from strategy to the best clothing and also to arrange training runs with others, please join the NextStep Improvers group.
If you are interested in a more detailed eight week plan (so those aiming for Eagles 10k can start at week 2 for w/c 16 March if you are at an appropriate level) or indeed would like some more suggestions about interval training or guidance on different paces at which you can train, please have a look at this 5k to 10k running programme.