Monday 04/06/18

Gym – Upper body

Easy 5 Miles

Boyyyyyyyyy my legs were definitely feeling the effects of racing on the track! I haven’t had DOMs like that for a long bloody time, my quads felt like lead! It did feel good to go for a few shake out miles though, and I managed to keep it at a nice steady pace, result!

Tuesday 05/06/18

Gym – Bootcamp

Easy 4

Okay, so day two and my legs were feeling even worse! My quads were actually sore to touch! How can racing a 3km be more painful than running a marathon?! Anyway, I headed out for a very easy 4 miles with a friend and it honestly felt like a real struggle, I was just hoping my legs were going to feel better for Wednesday!

Wednesday 06/06/18

Grand Prix Series 5k

Every summer the local running clubs take it in turns to host a bi-weekly 5k race across various locations. It’s a fantastic race series, and one that attracts not only runners from the local area but further afield too! I went to this race with a goal, I am trying to not put as much pressure on myself but I wont lie and say there were two things I wanted to achieve at the race – break 18 minutes, and be the 1st woman to cross the line… and I managed to do both!!

That was probably the best 5k run I have ever done, I managed to keep a consistent pace throughout and felt really strong, it was definitely a massive confidence boost, especially so early on in my training!

Splits 

Mile 1 – 5.43

Mile 2 – 5.47

Mile 3 – 5.45

I then went to the pub and celebrated with a massive burger and a glass of wine, result!

Thursday 07/06/18

Gym – Lower Body

3 Mile Tempo (3 miles @ sub 20 pace)

A tempo run the day after getting my 5km PB?! This didn’t seem very fair! But guess what, during a marathon your legs get TIRED, so sometimes its good to push through that pain and train on tired legs, and most of the time you end up surprising yourself!

I had a mad day on Thursday, which included a 200 mile round trip to Heathrow airport straight after work, and I’ll be honest when I got home at 9pm I really wasn’t feeling it, but I’m so glad I made myself get out there!

Friday 08/06/18

REST DAY – I had a lie in (well, if 7am counts!) had a coffee in bed before work, had an afternoon nap before teaching Bootcamp and caught up with Love Island… PERFECT!

Saturday 09/06/18

Intervals – 3 x 2 miles (3 min recovery) + WU/CD

Interval training is a key part of my training plan, in my opinion it is essential if you want to improve you running times & overall fitness and definitely should not be over looked. There are two key types of interval training which work different areas of fitness;

Aerobic Endurance Training –  These sessions tend to be longer, anything from 5 minutes, to a couple of miles. They are still meant to be hard, but rather than working at your max you should be working at around 60-80% of your max HR, enough to know that you are working hard, but not so hard that you feel like you might collapse at the end! These are key for marathon training, think Mo Farah!

Speed Training – These are typically shorter distances/times and require maximum effort to be beneficial, ideally you should be working at around 80-90% of your Max HR (or basically hard enough that you can’t talk!) So think sprints/track/short distance, channel your inner Usain Bolt!

My plan includes a mix of both of these. I have track and hill sessions ranging from 200m/30 seconds right up to this session.. 2 mile intervals!

A question I get asked quite a lot is how to get started with interval training, or how to push yourself during your efforts. If you do struggle to push yourself on your own, the best thing I can suggest is look into joining a local running club. It is a great way to introduce yourself into interval running, plus you have the added bonus of a coach and lots of other runners! Failing that, if I know I have a hard session planned, I make sure I have an awesome Spotify playlist ready to go! The right music can be a great way to get your legs going and help you push when it gets tough!

If you are brand new to interval training, then keep it simple. Here is an example of a session I did when I first started and I used to love it!

*In terms of pace, this will be different for everyone. But for a benchmark aim for your 5km PB pace for the efforts*

Warm Up – 10/15 minutes easy running 

1 minute effort – 3 min jog/walk recovery

2 minute effort – 3 min jog/walk recovery

3 minute effort – 3 min jog/walk recovery

4 minute effort – 3 minute jog/walk recovery

5 minute effort – 3 min jog/walk recovery 

Cool Down – 10/15 minutes easy running 

Sunday 10/06/18

14 Steady Miles

And the long Sunday runs are back! It was such a beautiful day on Sunday, and I headed out early doors with a friend and just enjoyed it! We covered road, trails, fields & chatted the whole way. For me these runs aren’t about pushing myself to breaking point, its just about getting the miles in & making it as enjoyable as possible! I’m actually looking forward to the longer ones (I know, I’m a weirdo!) BRING IT ON!

 

 

Summary

Weekly Miles – 45

Gym Sessions – 3

 

Jordan xx