OUR TRAINING PROGRAMME
The weekly schedule of club activities can be found at the link below. There is no need to book, just turn up. But if this will be your first time, please email the club so we are ready to meet and greet you
“If you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll always get what you’ve always got!”
Sticking to one form of training, not only makes preparing for races tedious and boring, but you are less likely to make the fitness gains required to meet your aspirations. So we try to add variety and include some challenging sessions where we can. Remember, NO PAIN, NO GAIN!
A few of the types of training sessions we hold are included below: Pace Groups; Out-and-back;Torchlight runs; Parlauf; Hill Work; Intervals; Mystery Tours and Track Work. From time to time, we’ll have technique sessions where we teach you how to run efficiently and how to run faster.
PACE GROUPS
Unless otherwise stated, we run in groups of different paces – approximately 7-8; 9; 10 and 11+ minute/miles
You decide which group to run with on any given night.
OUT-AND-BAck
We run a given course for a given time, the faster runners going further, then after say, 25 or 30 minutes, we turn round and run back – but at a faster pace. So bring your watch! If all goes according to plan, we should all arrive back within a few minutes of each other
TORchlight runs
As the name suggests, this is a run in the dark! We run through the darkest parts of Buckingham and Stowe Park – through the parks and woods where there is little or no light. If you don’t own a headtorch, bring a hand-held one
PArlauf
Runners will be paired up – faster runner with a slower runner – and will set off on a circular route in opposite directions. When they meet they turn round and run back, hopefully meeting back at the starting point. But it doesn’t end there …. more will be explained on the night!
MYSTERY TOURS
In teams of 5 or 6, each runner has a set of instructions that they open when the preceding person has come to the end of theirs. The idea is that you won’t know where you are going until you get there! You’ll end up running up roads and alleyways you don’t normally do on a normal run.
TRACK WORK
Three or four times a year, during the Summer months, we hire the running track at Stowe. We use these sessions to practice running techniques, have fun relays and hold 1 mile time trials. It’s also nice to run on a different surface Run
HILLWORK
Lenborough Road – a form of progression training – you run up the hill for 20 seconds, jog/walk back down, repeat; then go again for 30 seconds and so on, until the final run at a full minute. Obviously, the fitter/stronger you are the further up the hill you go!
Page Hill – a form of interval training – you sprint up the hill as far as your legs/lungs will take you, then walk or jog back down, recover (get your breath back!) and repeat. The number of intervals you do depends on your fitness level and your recovery time, but as a rough guide the whole exercise, including the 10 minute warm up run, should last no more than 30 minutes, or 45 minutes if you are very fit. Once you have undertaken this session, remember how many intervals you completed and how far up the hill you went. Then see how you progress over the next few weeks! A heart rate monitor ensures you recover fully before going again.
Lime Avenue/Willow Drive – another form of interval training – you run hard up Lime Avenue, recovery run along the road/passage to the top of Willow Drive, then run hard down the hill, recovery run along to the bottom of Lime Avenue and repeat for about 12minutes (i.e. about 4 or 5 reps). Then do it all again (but one interval less!) in the opposite direction. Follow this up with a tempo run round Badgers Way!
INTERVALS
With interval training, you run hard for a given time or distance, then have a recovery period where you may walk or jog for a while.Try our “Lamptervals” (interval training using distances between lamposts) or “Hilltervals” (lamptervals around Page Hill)