Week 2, and we already have a reduced group. My hope is that we we are ahead of the stats and get 90% of you to complete the course. Sometimes life does just get in the way. We already have a couple of non-running injuries, and a realisation that the time and day does not suit their working life. Don’t forget that there are other groups that you can move to if the timing doesn’t suit you, and unless you wrap yourself up in cotton wool there is always a chance that you will hurt yourself and not be able to run for a few days. This is why it is so important to complete the homework. You get healthier and fitter when you REPEATEDLY expose your body to stresses. In this example the stress is the act of running. Your body will breakdown (slightly) and rebuild itself based on the stresses it has been exposed to. If the stress is too much you get higher levels of inflammation, which is why when you push hard you might find you can’t walk the next day (or worse, 2-3 days later). If the soreness stops you from exercising then you end up with less benefit overall. This is why the sessions are tempered to the point where you feel you can still do a little bit more. That way you can do more in-between our weekly meet up.
The higher the training frequency (with moderate effort) the better your health will be.
Having said that, don’t stress if you miss a session. In these early weeks you can get away with a little. later on you will find that following the entire process becomes more important. Taking part in every single session that I give you in between the group workouts. The weekly group is designed so that everyone can take part each week, and get the most from the coaching, even if they are, in effect a week or two ‘behind’ the main group progress.
This weeks aim was to reinforce the idea that running can be relatively easy when we managed the work and rest periods effectively. we always start off easy, and this week the longest run was shorter than in week 1.
warm up – brisk walk, 1 lap approx 8 minutes (oops, forgot to re-start my Garmin)
20 sec run/40 walk x 8
30 sec run/60 sec walk x 3
30 sec run/45sec walk x 6
2 minute standing rest
30 sec run/ 30 sec rest x 4
60 run up the hill/30 rest
30 run/30 walk x 2
30 seconds fast (not sprint)
5 min walk
total 11:40 – because I let you all run up the hill for (up to) 1 minute. Some of you did 30-45 seconds. In effect you all excelled by surpassing our target. total distance covered was in the region of 5km, twice as much as last week because of all the running, in around 47 minutes.
Here is the link to my Strava for the run
I was really pleased with the feedback that for almost all of you the session felt easier than in the first week.
Your homework is to repeat the session. I did notice in the comments from last week that many of you did more in the homework session. In at least two cases this led to increased soreness and stiffness the day after. So please stick to the plan! If you get to the end of each session and feel you can do more than the session is perfect. Remember in Week One I talked about this beginners group being about gaining health and a love of running? No? Go back and read it again then.
If you want a slightly less complicated version then do this:
10 min walk
30 run / 60 walk x 8
30 run / 45 walk x 8
30 run / 30 rest x 6
5-10 min walk
approx 45 minutes total with 11 minutes running
Next week we will be working on recovery and the art of breathing
