Team Marie Keating- Women’s Mini Marathon Training Guide Week 1

When starting your running plan, they key is not to do too much too soon and peak weeks out from the run.

jogging woman Glenisk 1

Remember, if you’ve never done a 10k run before and this is your first time starting a running programme, the body will need time to adapt with shorter distances first. If you’re an intermediate to advanced runner, sometimes shorter, more intense sessions are the vital part which many long-distance runners leave out. We will cover more on this topic throughout our 10 weeks and tips like these will hopefully help you towards that personal best. To begin, we look to keep it simple for all levels. Always begin each workout regardless of level, with a 5 minute warm up, including a dynamic range of movement and jogging and finish each workout with a 5 minute cool down and static stretch. If you’re unsure of any stretches check out Bodybyrne.ie for help.
In Week 1 our key is to get the body moving so for beginners we are not concerned about distance. Take the session with caution starting out. Focus on the basics – foot alignment and posture – make sure this all feels comfortable. For the intermediate to advanced trainer it’s about putting down a benchmark of where we currently stand and improving on that each week.

Beginner

Session 1 Intervals: 1 min walk followed by 1 minute of running for approximately 20 minutes. This session will help improve cardiovascular fitness but will also ease us into running.
Session 2 Long Run: With this session the goal is to run at a steady pace for as long as you can then take full recovery (which would be when your ability to hold a conversation is restored) and once you’ve recovered, run again. This session should last approximately 30 minutes.

Intermediate/Advanced

Session 1 Long Run: Put down a base time, run 10k and see what your current time is. This is your benchmark. If you can’t manage 10k, go for as long as you can. You will see the benefit of this come week 10.
Session 2 Intervals – distance 6k: 1 minute steady jog (about 60% of your max) followed by 30 seconds of a 75% pace. This session again should last 35 minutes including your warm up and cool down. The benefit of this session is that it improves your cardiovascular fitness but over time will increase the speed of your legs over a 10k distance.
The above might not seem like much but 2 sessions is plenty starting off and remember, we are looking to peak for 10 weeks’ time so be patient and resist the urge to do more.