Training session types

A good plan isn't the same run every day. Different sessions train different things - endurance, speed, your ability to hold a strong pace - and easy days let your body absorb the hard ones.

Here's what each type in your plan means, in plain English.

The bread and butter of any plan. Run at a comfortable, conversational pace — if you can't talk in full sentences, you're going too fast. Easy runs build your aerobic base and let you rack up distance without digging a fatigue hole. Most of your running should feel this easy.

A steady, 'comfortably hard' effort — the pace you could just about hold for about an hour. It sits right around your lactate threshold, teaching your body to clear fatigue and hold a strong pace for longer. You should be working, able to say a few words but not chat. Usually run as one sustained block after a warm-up.

Short, fast repeats (e.g. 400m–1km) at a hard pace, with an easy jog or walk to recover between each. Intervals sharpen your speed and lift your VO2 max — the ceiling of your aerobic fitness. Warm up well first, and treat the recoveries as part of the session, not a failure.

The cornerstone of endurance training — your longest run of the week, run at an easy, sustainable pace (not a race). It builds the stamina and mental resilience to go the distance on event day. Slow down if you need to; time on feet is what counts.

A very gentle, short run the day after a hard session. Kept deliberately slow, it boosts blood flow to tired legs and aids recovery without adding real training stress. If in doubt, go slower — this one is meant to feel almost too easy.

Aerobic exercise that isn't running — cycling, swimming, rowing, the elliptical. It keeps your fitness ticking over while sparing your joints the impact, which is great for recovery, injury-proofing, or just mixing things up. Aim for a similar effort to an easy run.

A full day off. Rest is when your body actually adapts and gets stronger from the work you've put in — it's part of the plan, not skipping it. Sleep well, eat well, and come back fresh.

The big day. Everything in the plan has been building to this. Trust your training, start conservatively, and enjoy it.