Well, it is Sunday, so its only fair that we go longer today…
Yesterday we posted 3 runs that you can do in 30 minutes. Today we’re extending that time to a still achievable 40 minutes and sharing 4 of our favourite sessions. There’s a couple of the foundational runs that we build everything else upon, and a couple of cheeky ones that that will burn those legs!
These are perfect for when we are time poor and looking for a short run that will add value to our training in under an hour. Give them a go and let us know what you think…
Keep running!
'Easy Does It'
Nice and cruisey 40 minutes with controlled heart rate and breathing. Try keeping these under control so that you are getting a genuinely aerobic workout. If you want a HR number to keep below, use the 'MAF method' and take 180 beats per minute, minus your age.
40 mins easy controlled run
'Striding Out'
Strides are a nice way to get the heart pumping without doing all out sprints. Do 20 minutes of easy, controlled running, then add in 10 x 50 metre increases in speed (these are called strides) with 1 minutes easy running after each of the 50m burst. Round out the run, with easy running until 40 minutes.
20 mins easy running
10 x 50m strides, with 1 minute easy run after each Cool down to 40 mins.
'Wind it up!'
This is a 'build run' that aims to help you learn to feel your pacing in action. It also emphasises the importance of finishing strong and not fading at the end of your runs.
Note: The 'medium' section here might be your 10km or half marathon race pace for example. In the hard 5 minutes, push beyond your race pace. You should be uncomfortable, puffing and your heart rate should be up.
20 mins easy, controlled running. 10 mins medium effort
5 mins pushing hard effort
5 mins easy jog to cool down
‘Increasing Intervals’
This run is a tough one! There are gradually building intervals of 1,2,3,4,5 minutes with the equivalent amount or easy recovery running after each effort. On these hard efforts you should be uncomfortable, puffing and your heart rate should be up. For the easy sections they can be as slow as you like.
10 mins easy running to warm up Intervals:
1 mins hard, 1 min easy,
2 mins hard, 2 mins easy,
3 mins hard, 3 mins easy,
4 mins hard, 4 mins easy,
5 mins hard, 5 mins easy.