It’s a new year … in fact it’s a whole new decade! So let’s use January to lay the foundation for our best year of running yet!

Throughout January we’re going to do workouts designed to jumpstart your running. These touch different energy systems without niching down on one in particular—with the exception of higher end speed (hence, this week’s strides).

Getting faster is definitely one of our goals this month!

#tempofitwow015

WHAT

3x10secs strides
3x1km @ your 5k race pace
3x10sec strides

Recoveries: 1 minute easy jog

Terrain: Flat measurable pathway or running track.

Feels: The beginnings of big things!

The strides either side of the 1k intervals are designed to develop great technique.

Use every second of those 10-second bursts to stand tall, quicken those strides and utilise the power from your arms to drive the legs.

HOW

Strides: These are fast, controlled bursts of running—not sprints! They’re aren’t designed to wear you out, but rather to develop excellent technique and leave you feeling great about running fast!

So, don’t sprint them. And allow enough time after each one to fully recover.

5k Race Pace: You may need to jump on tempofit.org to plug a recent race result into the calculator to estimate your current 5k race pace. Today’s intervals won’t break the bank, they’re really designed to lay the foundation for future workouts and, ultimately, the main goal of today is to develop that great technique with the strides.

3 TIPS FOR JUMPSTARTING YOUR RUNNING IN 2020

Variety. It’s the spice of life and in terms of running we can get huge returns in terms of enjoyment, improvement and injury prevention if we keep that variety of mixing up the speeds (with workouts like this) and the terrain (and, with it, the scenery).
Intentional Recovery. We take that enjoyment of running to another level when we become as intentional with our recovery as we are with our actual training. So here’s a challenge for January … see if you can do one of the following each week for this month: 1) Get a massage, 2) Have an incredibly nutritious and delicious meal, 3) Soak in a hot tub and/or ice bath, 4) Do a yoga class.
Be World Class at Your Pace. Most of us don’t exactly view our running as world class, but I want to tell you that you should and you can! Just because your pace may not qualify you for the Olympics or even a Boston Marathon entry, doesn’t mean that you can’t be world class AT YOUR PACE.
By focusing on great technique, sensible and accurate pacing in races and workouts, cross-training and injury prevention, and a second-to-none mind-set we can truly all become world class runners!