Guest Post: A Training Week... by Pat Walsh

 ** A Training week **
Many thanks for the interest in last week’s post. I do know from feedback and private messages that a few of you have discovered your running shoes again… super. 👏👏

I’ve been asked about a training week and what is should consist of.
To be honest, to improve and stay injury free then hitting the balance between under and over training is the key. PWR Rules (purely my own, built up over time)

This is for people running regularly and not anyone who has recently started running for the first time or has just come back to the sport.
1 session a week you are going backwards
2 sessions a week will hold current levels for a while and act as a recovery
3 sessions a week are needed to see some improvement
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Ideally, a Speedy Session, a Long Run and a recovery Easy Run. Each is important and has a purpose.
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You must do some Speed Work if you want improvement. Your legs will not automatically get faster and your lungs will not adapt to the required race levels if you do not put in some speed work in training.
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The Long Run is a staple for most of us and the one we most look forward to. Get a crew and just drift along, chatting, encouraging, clearing the mind and hopefully a cuppa afterwards. This is the social run that keeps our sanity. (or what is left of it)
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Easy Run is good for the legs to just a have a nice handy run to work out lactic acid and let the body recover. It is also a good way of building the weekly total if you are training towards a distance race.
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People training for Marathons or winning short races will obviously do more than this per week, but the 3 sessions can help build a decent base before you decide on anything more.
The key is consistency and trying always to get the 3 runs done. Missing a week or 2 isn’t major harm but don’t overcompensate by trying to cram in the missed runs.
Steady weeks, steady monthly totals and slowly building the weekly effort is the way to improve.
3 sessions also allows recovery days and time maybe for a strength or flexibility class.
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Maybe this sounds too simple to be effective. Maybe there is not enough variety in my approach.

But that is possible to rectify. 
The speed session can be varied over different distances each week and sometimes maybe a tempo run.
The Long run can be added to once you are comfortable and maybe a focus on the pace that you are running at.
The Easy run can be made longer every few weeks to help the total.
Change the venues, change around your partners. There is plenty to give us variety while we improve.
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Yes you can do more and improve in a short space of time, but when the injury comes and you will miss a few weeks to clear up the inevitable injury and your fitness will go backwards. 
Maybe the slow steady approach will still be the best way.
Running and training need to be part of your life and built into the weekly schedule. Too much is unsustainable and too little you are going nowhere. Look to develop a running Lifestyle.
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Best of luck to all the Paralympians in action in Japan. You are all super and inspirational. Congrats Ellen Keane on your Gold medal. Go that girl and hopefully many more medals for the team to follow.

#pwr #keeponrunning