Every so often you need to stop and think about how far you’ve come as the progress won’t always be obvious or your training might not be productive. To help with monitoring progress I suggest repeating the parkrun time trial or another simple measure can be repeating a session from early on in your schedule that you found tough and comparing that with how it feels now.
If it still feels the same then you need to make a comparison with the time taken to complete as you can’t always base progress solely on how you feel after completing a session. This is because as you get fitter and stronger you will start to run faster even though the effort feels the same so the comparison will need to be measured by time rather than effort and if it feels the same but takes less time then you’ve improved.
Don’t get disheartened by the occasional result that might indicate you are going backwards rather than forwards as sometimes a drop in performance can be an advance warning of an illness brewing or possibly you are just trying to do too much. Have a think about might be causing it and in some cases making a few lifestyle changes can be all that’s needed. Improving your quality of sleep by going to bed earlier and ensuring you are getting enough rest and recovery along with good nutrition should be enough to get you moving forward again.
Note: Distances in Metres / Kilometres.
5K Beginner – Finisher
- Day 1: 5 Min Brisk Walk. (2 Min Run / 60 secs walk, Repeat for 20 mins). Walk to finish
- Day 2: Rest
- Day 3: 5 Min Brisk Walk. (2 Min Run / 60 secs walk, Repeat for 20 mins). Walk to finish
- Day 4: 5 Min Brisk Walk. (2 Min Run / 60 secs walk, Repeat for 20 mins). Walk to finish
- Day 5: Rest
- Day 6: 5 Min Brisk Walk. (2 Min Run / 60 secs walk, Repeat for 20 mins). Walk to finish
- Day 7: Rest or Active Recovery. Cycle / Swim / Brisk Walk.
5K Intermediate – Targetting 25-35 Mins
- Day 1: Rest
- Day 2: 20-30 Min Easy
- Day 3: 10 Min Easy, 4 *800 M @ 5K Pace from TT, 2 min Walk Recovery between reps. 10 Min Cool down
- Day 4: 20-35 Min Easy
- Day 5: Rest
- Day 6: Parkrun or 5K TT.
- Day 7: 20-30 Min Easy
10K Beginner – Finisher
- Day 1: Run at conversational pace for 20-25 Mins.
- Day 2: Rest
- Day 3: Tempo Run. (10 mins easy pace followed by 15 mins faster then 10 easy to finish) Slightly faster than conversation pace.
- Day 4: Rest
- Day 5: Run at conversational pace for 20-25 Mins.
- Day 6: Parkrun or 5K TT.
- Day 7: Run for 35-40 Mins. Out and back route. Run out for 25 and return for 15. Walk to finish.
10K Intermediate – Targetting 45-60 mins
- Day 1: 8-10K Easy
- Day 2: Rest
- Day 3: Tempo Run. (10 mins easy pace followed by 15 mins faster then 10 easy to finish) Slightly faster than conversation pace.
- Day 4: 6-8K or 40 mins Easy
- Day 5: Rest
- Day 6: Parkrun or 5K TT.
- Day 7: Run for 40-45 Mins. Out and back route. Run out for 25 and return for 20. Walk to finish.