After last week we’re going to start building up to the final race day with the final 3 weeks of training. Things will get tough before we get to the end so time to start digging deep and persevere.

Session 1: Easy Run

This session allows an additional recovery day – we’re going to start getting ready for the final push to race day after this session so take it nice and easy on this session. Run for around 60 to 70 mins, keep it relaxed and shake out those joints.

Session 2: Tempo Run

3 to 6 miles at Tempo run pace as the middle section of a 60 to 90 minute run. Don’t forget to include a warm-up and warm-down. You should feel better after this session than when you did tempo runs a few weeks ago. The target is to run longer at tempo pace than you have been doing, so keep the pace under control – this is not about just speed but some speed at a controlled pace.

Session 3: Short easy run

About 40-60 minutes only at a nice relaxed and comfortable pace. Include a warm-up and warm-down before you get into a comfortable, relaxed pace. You should feel refreshed at the end and certainly not tired.

Session 4: long run

Run for around 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes. A nice easy pace finish to the week building up some endurance and getting ready for race day.

Next week is going to be tough so make sure the easy runs in this week are exactly that. You should be feeling much more comfortable running for longer now and Tempo pace runs should not be exhausting. If you’re struggling then you might want to repeat the weeks between the 2 recovery weeks – it’s better to take extra time and get the effect you want rather than rushing through to the end. Especially at the moment when the race calendar is so empty.