Who says we need to set a time target when we race? And why should that be based around some kind of arbitrary construct like the time it takes the Earth to rotate 1/24th of the way around its axis? Unfortunately we did. We built this whole app based around thinking that everyone enters a running race with some kind of time target in mind. What about people running their first race who need to set a benchmark? What about people who want to race in fancy dress? What about people who want to go out and have an amazing, life-changing experience while perhaps raising a ton of cash for charity without worrying about their watch telling them they’re a few seconds per km above their target pace?
This was some of the earliest feedback we received and to address it, we are proud to have now included some plans that put you firmly in charge of your pace and time targets.
Into the details; we still want to vary your runs, working on speed and distance in a range of workouts, so take the following as a guide:
Warm-up/Slow - Run at a comfortable pace, or if your race plan is to to run/walk, this can be your brisk walk pace. You should be able to maintain a conversation easily.
Fast - For interval training you want to be running at 80-90% of your max effort. No room for chat at this pace. If you’re run/walking, this is the time to break out into a run.
Tempo - Somewhere in between, take a look at the distance and run at a pace you can maintain, but is on the edge of your comfort zone.
Race Pace/Easy/Long Run - Lumping these together because it’s really up to you. Go and enjoy your run, you might find that every weekend you’re running further than you ever have before. At this point the pace is almost irrelevant because if you finish your run and are already looking forward to next week, sorry but you’ve already caught the bug.
One thing we won’t budge on though is some of the run lengths. If you’re training for a marathon we want the experience to be as amazing as possible for you, and going into the race under-trained can make for a miserable day. For this reason we’ve kept our long runs long, they’re the most beneficial run of the week and urge you to do what you can to fit them in. (Also remember a long walk is just a slightly slower run) Just make sure you enjoy it.
So there you got,time to pick a distance, load up this plan and make it your own. At the end of the day our main focus is getting that medal at the finish line right? We’d like to think these plans will get you there.
See our plans here:
