On Thursdays, our run leaders will lead a group session that works on developing speed endurance. These sessions supported with drills, technique work and dynamic stretching. These drills are great for improving performance as they slowly ingrain the functional, quality movements and form that allow you run stronger, more robustly, longer and more efficiently.
Thursday’s training is designed to be all-inclusive. Everyone runs to the session together and we will be confined to specific area, with everyone going around at least once together if anyone is unsure of the details of the workout. After the session we all go back to the Leisure Centre together giving us valuable time and opportunity to reflect on the workout and ask any questions.
Variety is crucial to continued improvement and development so the workouts are separated into various categories. Each type of workout has a main focus and purpose depending on what physiological system it is designed to stress.
(Very) broadly speaking, the main types of training are:
- Short, fast intervals to improve speed and form
- Long intervals to improve performance in shorter races
- Tempo/threshold runs to improve performance over middle to longer races
- Long runs to build endurance
Click here for a basic introduction to the different types of training, how to perform each workout and the purpose each serves.
Since we have our famous “Phil’s Hills” to take us through our summer in Bradgate Park, this page will, therefore, contain a library of workouts that can be done local to Braunstone Leisure Centre.
Short interval sessions
Constant or varied intervals of 2 to 6 minutes in length, with recoveries of 50 to 90% of the length of the interval. As a general rule aim for no more than 8% of total weekly volume of total effort per workout but this can be left to each individual.
Session 2a
On the triangle around Fullhurst, start at the corner nearest to Westcotes Park.
Option 1: ~800m reps to the corner of Roxy Chippy, with a ~600m recovery back to the starting corner.
Option 2: ~1000m reps to the green fence on Fullhurst Ave with a ~400m recovery back to the starting corner.
Total effort: 3 – 8 reps.
Session 2b
Start at the end of park view inside Western Park.
One effort all the way until the last lampost.
Recovery back down the hill towards the Hinckley Rd entrance.
The next effort is back up the hill and then maintaining intensity all the way back to Park View.
Active recovery for 2 – 4 minutes then repeat.
Aim for around 15 – 25 minutes of total effort time.
Session 2c
On Gooding Ave, start at the top of the lit path that goes inside Braunstone Park.
The effort is downhill across the path, across Cort Cres then back through the park up the hill. Maintain intensity up the hill.
The whole lap can be done as an effort or recovery points can be picked along the lap.
Session 2d
This session involves two flat efforts of around 600m then 1000m along Glenfield Road then an effort from Lindfield Rd through to and up the steep hill of Letchworth Rd.
Session 2e
Involves intervals around the downhill of Aikman Ave and the uphill on Sandhurst Rd.
Starting at the ‘top’ of Aikman, pick different finishing points after Sandhurst, either finishing after the hill effort or maintaining intensity until the end of Pindar Rd.
Session 2f
A twist on the Darlington Rd (or Parker) hill reps, this involves an effort up the hill but maintaining intensity around the corner onto the flat and then all the way through the downhill corners.
Recovery once on Copeland Ave.
Session 2g
A simple 1km effort up and down Kingsway. Enables the practice of converting uphill power into downhill speed.
Lactate Threshold / Tempo Sessions
Constant / varied intervals or continuous running at just over your maximal pace for an hour. For intervals, recover one minute for every five of effort or mix your slightly faster than LT pace with bouts of slightly slower than LT pace.
The total amount of effort done at LT can be quite flexible so this is left up to each individual per each workout.
Click here to see a map of the sessions
Session 3a
Starting on Gooding Ave, at the top of the lit path that runs through Braunstone Park, go across the path through the park and run a lap around the park.
The effort can finish at the original starting point or at any other predefined point further along the perimeter, all the way up to going around and coming back up the path.
Session 3b
The effort starts at the top of Glenfield Road and follows a loop all the way around back down on Aikman Ave. The effort finishes just before Letchword Road.
The loop can be differentiated by either cutting across through Lindfield and Westfield Road or extending by going all the way to Henley Road.
Practice maintaining the same intensity going down Aikman and going up Glenfield.
Session 3c
Starting at either end of Kingsway, the effort is a full up and down loop. The road goes up and down so focus on an even intensity uphill and then using that power to increase leg turnover when going down. Recover around the area of the starting point.
Session 3d
Starting at the top of Hinckley road, the effort goes down Winstanley Drive to Braunstone Ave, then Wyngate and finally back onto Hinckley Road.
For this loop, you could try staying below threshold for all sections that aren’t Hinckley Road then pushing above threshold going up the hill. For this workout the focus would be not going too hard on the hill as it would involve continuous running of the loop.
The other option would be taking a recovery of up to three minutes going back down on Winstanley Dr.
Session 3e
Involves two options. The first effort involves starting at the bottom of Park View coming into the lit path inside Western Park.
Then go at effort for the following – all the way to the end of the lit path, then from this point all the way down the hill to get back on Hinckley road to finish by going back up the hill to the entrance near the bus stop.
This section can be repeated or one can do the other loop which is a loop from past the junction all the way onto New Parks Way and then coming back down Park View.
Session 3f
Around the Fullhurst triangle, start at the Westcotes Park corner.
Going counter-clockwise, do one whole loop PLUS going all the way to the astro-turf’s green fence again.
Recover to the chippy, turn around and then perform an anaerobic effort back up to the green fence. Focus on initiating this effort as quickly as you can, do not take an extended recovery.
After this short effort, recover back to the original starting point and repeat these two alternating efforts.
Focus on maintaining good quality during both efforts as you will be tempted to treat the fast effort as something to ‘get out of the way’ but the idea is to be able to practice quality at high intensity when fatigued.