Having a balanced training program is so important for many reasons. For one, it adds variety to your training week; it makes training sessions more fun when you aren’t doing the same thing day after day! Plus, a varied training program is a balanced training program. I think balance is the most important aspect of any training plan, especially when the training being done is very long and repetitive, such as long distance running! Not only will a balanced training program help to prevent injuries, it will help you improve, too! Exposing yourself to different physical stimuli with a variety of specific sessions is a great way to keep training exciting and get the most out of your week. In this blog entry, I will outline the various sessions I complete throughout the week which keep me motivated, happy, and improving!

Easy Runs

Easy mileage takes up about 75 – 80% of my training week – between warm up runs, cool-down runs, recovery runs, and long easy runs – every run day I’m running easy at some point! I try to define an easy run by a feeling rather than a pace. For example, if I am extra tired from school or work or a hard run, my easy pace will be slower than if I am fresh and well-rested. Easy runs are a great opportunity to explore a new run route, have a nice conversation with a friend, or just zone out and enjoy accumulating easy kilometers!

Long Runs

The long run is quite self-explanatory – it is your longest run of the week! Normally, I complete one to two long runs per week. I typically run them at an easy pace, but sometimes I incorporate faster paces for portions of my long run (see below- progression runs). The training purpose of long runs is to build up endurance and durability. I’ve raced a range of distances as short as 800 m to as long as a half marathon (21.1km), and I’ve found the long run to be an integral part of my training plan in all of those distances!

Threshold Runs

These are run at the threshold of comfort. If you are trying to define your threshold pace, it is as fast as you can run before your breathing changes over from controlled, representative of an “aerobic” effort, to labored, or entering the anaerobic zone. Another way to describe a tempo run is as the fastest run pace you could maintain for 60 minutes. However, depending on your training goals, the pace and the workout can be adapted to reflect varying distance/intensity. For example, a session such as 4 x 8 minutes hard with 2 minutes easy jog between hard reps could be run at a pace you could maintain for 30-40 minutes; you can increase the intensity of the session while remaining in the aerobic/threshold zone because the jog break gives your body the chance to recover from the harder effort. My favorite threshold workout is anywhere from 30-50 minutes continuous at a steady pace.

Progression Runs

Progression runs are one of my favorite sessions. They are typically longer runs, but the idea is to pick up the pace as the run goes on. So, by the end, you are running the fastest pace of the entire run. They are a great way to practice running fast and efficient while fatigued. Progression runs are also a great opportunity to practice pacing and patience; a great set of skills to have if you enjoy competing in longer distance races!