Can you believe running season has begun and spring is nearly here?! Running is the perfect activity to make sure you spend more time outside, and it carries a whole host of other benefits including building cardiovascular capacity and boosting your mood. Plus, when you run or walk with a goal in mind, it’s even more motivating.
To help you reach your goals, On has created a 4-week training plan that will help you reach your 10K goal.
Let’s Get Started:
- Running Schedule: Establish a regular running schedule with a mix of rest days and running days.
- Set your goals. How do you want to feel during your race experience? Goal race pace? Finish time?
- Build your run community. Who are you running with on Thursdays? How can you build this training plan into your work week?
- Learn the lingo. What are strides? What is cross training? What is a run club? Check out our vocabulary sheet in the appendix.
- Gear up. Shop the On collection at Sporting Life for head to toe look that will help you get out the door. Shop Here: https://www.sportinglife.ca/en-CA/on
- Listen to your body. This is just a plan. Modify as needed.
Here’s an idea of how each week will look, with run intensity and length varying, as detailed below in the weekly training plan.
Monday: Reflection (Backwards + Forwards)
Route Suggestions: Your neighborhood 5km route
Tuesday: Gear up + Get After It.
Route Suggestions: Complete on flat running path and/or on a hill.
Wednesday: Recovery/Rest Day
Thursday: Community
Route Suggestions: Lean on your local run club or run specialty store to build the route.
Friday: Shortcut to Runner’s High (i.e tempo)
Route Suggestions: Flat, paved, straight course. Less navigation = heightened focus on the intervals.
Saturday: (Endur)ance
Route Suggestions: Rolling, paved or gravel run path.
Sunday: Cross Train X Strength Training
*Reminder: Don’t forget to warm up before all of your runs to ensure you have blood flowing to your muscles. This will help prevent muscle tears and other injuries.
Vocabulary:
- Pace: How fast you’re running. Generally measured in minutes / kilometer.
- Warm Up: Easy jog, slowly elevating your heart rate, with a few 10 second strides peppered in to get the legs moving
- Cool Down: Easy jog, slowly decreasing your heart rate
- Tempo / Race Pace: The goal minute / kilometer you would like to hold for the duration of the 10km.
- Steady / Conversation pace: A pace that is sustainable, easy enough to hold a conversation while running.
- Run Club: Weekly running groups that meet on certain days / times. How do you find a run club? Reach out to an On ambassador to lead your way!
- Cross Train: Alternative, endurance based workout that is generally less impact than running. Examples include – cycling, hiking, swimming, skiing, etc.