In brief
- An eight-week 5km plan; this part covers weeks one and two.
- The weekly schedule mixes focused technique runs, a brick session, rest and stretching.
- Practical kit advice: branded runners, good socks, a foam roller and stretch bands.
I am so proud of my athletes this year!
Barbara Sanchez 41st at European Championship this week, Sarah Kelly and Niamh Kilgallen at British Championship and European Junior swimming championship, Tom Hogan at the European Mountain Running Championship, Dena Hogan at the European Triathlon Age group Championship and all the athletes I train weekly, you really make me a proud coach. You do the work, I am just “painting” the session on the board.
Starting Your 5km Training
So what about that 5km training? This week I will share a few simple sessions to start running a good 5km with a good and simple physical base
Believe it or not I use this with any runners as a starting point. So I know they all start at the same point
You do the work, I am just “painting” the session on the board.
Schedule
Monday: 4.5km (focus on long strides, good foot landing, body posture)
Tuesday: 6.5km (focus on head position, imagine someone is pulling your hair up)
Wednesday: 3.5km run followed by 15km bike and 2km run (have a blast at it)
Thursday: Rest & stretch (see below)
Friday: 6.5km (after warm up, focus on your hips action moving forward, and your arms action above your hips)
Saturday: 9.5km after warm up, do 3x1km at the pace you wish to run the 5km at, with 1min between each nice and easy, then relax and cool down
Sunday: Rest & Stretch
Example of Warm up
3km with Elbow to inside of opposite knee / heels to glutes / lunges / skipping running (sideway / backward) fast simulation of arm action (15sec x3)
Example of Cool down
3km: finish warm down with 10×100 long strides at moderate pace with 30sec rest between each 100.
Things you need to start
1) Good branded runners (the non brand don’t last much and absorption is not great, I would not advise barefoot running to start with) I run with Nike Lunar every year and buy the previous model to save money
2) Good running sock, double layer (my one are about 3.99 euro)
3) good shorts or lycra to avoid friction
4) Tshirts: technical tees are great but sometimes those dry fit can be just too dry on the skin causing irritation and scratchy feeling. Cotton are good but they need to be light and comfortable, and always look for in any good running tshirts the stitches are not rough as they can hurt really bad with friction.
5) a foam roller, start to learn to use it and if it feels nasty on your muscle, it means you are doing a good job and will save you a good few massages. You can have a hard black or orange one for about 50 euro, get a cheap one to start with in blue soft foam. I got my one for 16 euro in Elverys.
6) stretch cords, or stretch bands, resistance bands, pilates band whatever people call them these days, they are multi purpose and can be very good in our program to stretch and then preventing injuries in the future. They come with different resistance levels, don’t get the hardest resistance at the moment (around 5 euro)
- Stretching Exercise:
