Welcome to the Qwik Kiwi tribe for you respective event.
Here is where you will find descriptions of the run workouts you will find within your training programme.
Run – Easy
This session is conducted at an easy Level I-II intensity and is typically 30 minutes long (or shorter). Keep the pace nice and steady. This session provides a a number of benefit: It helps develop the efficiency of the heart and lungs; and, It doesn’t require as much recovery as some of the other runs in your training schedule. Finish with ten minutes of stretching muscles that are sore or tired.
Run – Steady
This session has similar benefits as the Easy Run above, but is longer in duration. It is done at Level II intensity consistently through out the session. As it is longer and you don’t spend time at the lower Level I intensity that you can in the Easy Run you develop more efficiency of the heart and lungs, but you also build up more fatigue. Finish with ten minutes of stretching muscles that are sore or tired.
Run – 5km Time Trial (TT)
This session provides us with feedback and data as to where your fitness currently is. Over the period of a programme we might do this a few times and compare your time against previous results. Physiologically this session will develop your ability to buffer lactic acid and handle a faster pace and greater effort.
This session should be done on a flat course and you will need to measure your 5km route before you run it the first time. To ensure that you are comparing apples with apples, make sure you use the exact same course each time you do the TT. I recommend an ‘out and back’ course, where you run out 2.5km and then turn around and run 2.5km back.
- 10min WU Level II;
- 3x 60sec Level IV, 30sec RI Level I;
- 5km TT;
- 10min CD Level I-II;
- 10min Stretching
The session starts with a Warm Up (WU) of ten minutes at Level II. Then increase your effort for 60 seconds to Level IV to get the Heart Rate (HR) up. After the 60 seconds drop your pace down to Level I for a 30 second Rest Interval (RI).Make sure you keep jogging slowly during the Rest Interval. Repeat this a total of three times. Aim to finish this part of the workout near the start line of the pre-measured 5km course.
Run the 5km as fast as you practically can to get the best possible time. Wear a Heart Rate Monitor or GPS watch but try and avoid looking at it. Run by feel but record the data and load it up onto Training Peaks as soon as you can after the workout.
Once you’ve done your 5km, jog at Level I-II for ten minutes as a Cool Down (CD) prior to finishing with ten minutes of stretching.
Run – Long
Long Runs are done at Level II intensity. The long run develops the efficiency of the heart and lungs and ability to run despite being fatigued. As Arthur Lydiard used to say to his top runners when he sent them on a 22 mile long run “It’s not the first twenty miles that gets the results but the two miles that come after the first twenty that gets the results.” The same applies to you regardless of your level of fitness or running ability. Even if 45 minutes is a long run for you, you get the benefit of the last ten minutes that pushes you past your current capability.
During the programme your long runs will progressively get longer over the weeks. Once we’ve built up your fitness to do long runs that are longer than 75 minutes we will include some stride outs. Stride Outs are short, fast paced, smooth running with great technique. I typically get you to do four reps of ~100m towards the end of a long run, with 5 minutes of running at Level II between. For example if you were doing a 90 minute Long Run then you would do each your four ~100m stride outs at the 65 minute, 70 minute, 75 minute and 80 minute marks, leaving you ten minutes after the last Stride Out for a Cool Down.
As with ALL sessions finish with ten minutes stretching.
Run – Hill Reps
Hill Reps develop the strength and power of your leg muscles. This will pay dividends with the later training and also on event day.
Example:
- 10min WU Level II;
- 5x 4min Hill Reps Level IV, ~4min jog down;
- 10min CD Level I-II;
- 10min Stretching
Start with a Warm Up of ten minutes at Level II. Try and do this on flattish course that lead to the base of a hill. If it takes you a little longer than the ten minutes to get to the hill that is fine to extend the Warm Up.
Run up the hill at a Level IV intensity for the duration of the repetition (four minutes in the example above). Make a mental note of how far you got to in the time frame and then turn around and jog down the hill to recover. As soon as you get back to your start point turn around and run back up the hill at your Level IV intensity trying to get past the point where you got to in the previous rep. Repeat for as many times as is scheduled in your programme (five reps in the example above).
After the last rep, run home at Level I-II intensity to Cool Down prior to doing ten minutes of stretches.
Run – Threshold Intervals
Threshold Intervals are higher intensity intervals that prepare you for the faster running of the event and also develop your efficiency with less time training. Threshold Intervals will leave you tired and fatigued if we don’t build an aerobic base prior to including them into your programme.
Example:
- 10min WU Level II;
- 4x 6min Level IV, 2min Level I RI;
- 10min CD Level I-II;
- 10min Stretching
Start off by running at Level II for ten minutes to Warm Up (WU). Increase your effort and pace to Level IV for the duration of the interval (in the example above it is six minutes), then have a Rest Interval (RI) at Level I (in the example above it is for two minute). Once you’ve done all the repetitions scheduled (four in the example above), commence your Cool Down (CD) at Level I-II for ten minutes. Finish with ten minutes of stretching.
Run – Long, Progressive
These runs develop your ability to push on and through a level of fatigue and simulate what you will experience with in the race.
Example:
- 50min Level II;
- 50min Level III;
- 10min Level IV;
- 10min CD Level I-II;
- 10min Stretching
Start off with an extended period of running at Level II (in the example above it’s for 50 minutes), then increase your pace to Level III for a similar amount of time (in this case it’s also 50 minutes as well). Next up is the hardest part of the session and you increase your intensity to Level IV (in this case for ten minutes) prior to Cooling Down (CD) for ten minutes at Level I-II. Finish with ten minutes stretching.