Senior Club Training

At the moment, our senior training groups have options to train on a Tuesday and/or Thursday. Many of our members also meet up for easy/recovery runs informally. . These sessions include a variety of speed and threshold running. As covid-19 restrictions begin to ease, the club is beginning to hold more training sessions with bigger numbers and at different locations with variety including track running, hill reps, recovery runs, tempo runs and more. (see below in ‘session structure)’.

Please click on the links below to take you to the booking pages on eventbrite. It is mandatory for members to pre-book onto sessions before attending.

Led by coaches Graham McCabe and Chris Ashe - Tuesday training, 6.30pm meet at Merkland Outdoor Recreational Centre. These sessions normally consist of a very easy 2/3 mile jog, some strides, then speedwork which may include 10 x 400m or 5 x 1km. Following the speedwork, the cool down is normally between 1-2 miles and the session is concluded around 7.45pm.

Led by coach Allison Law - Tuesday training is on the Merkland running track, 6-7pm. The session starts at 6pm, so please aim to arrive warmed up and good to go. Allison also coaches a Thursday off-track session. Again, the meet is at Merkland for 6pm, and similar to the Tuesday off-track session led by Graham, there will be a warm up, speedwork, and then a cool down.

All sessions are organised in groups, allowing individuals to run with others of a similar level and running targets. We endeavour to engage as much of the local community as possible, regardless of your background and running experience. We are a friendly bunch, so why not come and join us!

Click here to access our Facebook group where you will find out more information about our inclusive club:

Session Descriptions

Warmups

DYNAMIC STRETCHING (warm up)

A series of exercises undertaken on the spot and should follow a gentle warm up of jogging. They are designed to loosen muscles and fibres across the body and prevent injury at the hared effort of the session

CONTINUOUS RUNNING (endurance)

Running at a constant, easy or steady pace pace for most of the run. Foe example, our easy runs would be a typical continuous run and many other sessions will start at this pace. Pace should be 60-70% effort and you should be able to easily hold a conversation. 

Main Sessions

TEMPO RUNNING (speed endurance)

Tempo runs will help your basic cruising speed of running. The tempo run is done at something nearer to race pace and will therefore get your heart, lungs and legs used to running that little bit faster. There should be a gradual increase in the effort/speed of these tempo runs. Distances vary from 4 to 8 miles. This should mean from a pace where you are able to have a brief conversation to a pace where a grunt is a response of any question.

FARTLEK RUNNING (speed endurance)
Fartlek combines continuous and interval training. Fartlek allows the athlete to run at varying intensity levels over distances of their choice. This type of training stresses both the aerobic and anaerobic energy pathways. Most Fartlek sessions last a minimum of 45 minutes.

INTERVAL TRAINING

Interval training is a type of physical training that involves bursts of high intensity work. This high intensity work is alternated with periods of rest or low activity. It is effective in building-up cardiovascular fitness, speed and speed endurance development.

HILLS (strength endurance)
Hills can be a hilly run where you work hard on the hills, or as hill repeats with jog recovery. The session is designed to benefit both strength work and building speed.

TRAILS AND CROSS COUNTRY (strength endurance)
Although run of different surfaces (and ideally with different footwear), the session is a combination of hills, tempo and fartlek. They will help to build leg strength and upper body balance as well as training for running and racing in these events.

Cool downs

Every session should finish with at least 3-5 minutes of gentle stretching. This should ideally mix a mix of dynamic and static stretching.

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