7th July - Short Hill Sprints

With club training sessions suspended due to Coronavirus lockdown measures our 2 club coaches, Glen Johnson and Andy Sloan, will be providing you with a weekly suggestion for a quality speed / endurance session.

It's Andy again this week with a session of short hard hill sprints.

Click the video link to hear Andy describe the session in his own words (the session description starts at about 2:20 in), or follow the bullet points below:

• First, identify a short steep hill - somewhere around 80m in length.
• Start with a 10 minute warm. Jog for 2-3 minutes and then incorporate a mix of dynamic drills / stretches.
• Once warmed up, begin the sprints/li>
  • Sprint up the hill HARD. (approx 90%)
  • Very slow recovery down - walking or jogging
  • Repeat for a total of 4 or 5 sprints. Try and make sure each one is run at the same pace.
  • Have a longer 4-5 minutes active recovery.
  • Run another set of 4 or 5 sprints.
• Finish with a steady cool down run of 2 - 3 miles. Don't forget to stretch when you are finished !

Stay Safe. Look after yourselves. Keep on running !

30th June - Fartlek

With club training sessions suspended due to Coronavirus lockdown measures our 2 club coaches, Glen Johnson and Andy Sloan, will be providing you with a weekly suggestion for a quality speed / endurance session.

Tonight's session is delivered by Glen. He would like you to try a fartlek session ( fartlek is the Swedish word for speedplay ). Instead of running structured intervals, you run random efforts, at various speed and varying efforts between recoveries. It's more fun running fartlek with one or two others, but can be enjoyed on your own!.  

Click the video link to hear Glen describe the sessions in his own words, or follow the bullet points below

• Remember to warm up for at least 10 minutes using jogging, exercises and some short sets of strides.
• Set off steady
• After 5 - 10 minutes look for a static landmark, such as a road sign, field gate or lamp post and race towards it. Once there return to steady running.
• If there are steps e.g up onto the via duct, run up them more than once!
• Be creative and challenge others if you are running in pairs or threes. Take turns to pick the landmark.
• Finish with a steady cool down and of course, don't forget to stretch when you are finished.

Stay Safe. Keep it Harriers.

23rd June - Intervals: 3 x 5 Min Efforts

With club training sessions suspended due to Coronavirus lockdown measures our 2 club coaches, Glen Johnson and Andy Sloan, will be providing you with a weekly suggestion for a quality speed / endurance session.

It's Andy again this week with a session targetting 5 minute HARD efforts.

Click the video link to hear Andy describe the session in his own words (the session description starts at about 2:00 in), or follow the bullet points below:

• Start with a 10 minute warm up at home. Jog for 2-3 minutes and then incorporate a mix of dynamic drills / stretches such as:
• Jog for 2-3 minutes
• High knees
• Lunges (forward and reverse)
• Walking on tip toes, then on heels
• High knees running on the spot and punching as well
• Now we begin the main session. Set off running and aim to repeat the following 3 times:
• Run at a medium pace for 10 minutes. (60-70%)
• Go hard for 5 minutes (80-90%)
• Finish with a steady cool down and of course, don't forget to stretch when you are finished !

Stay Fit. Stay Cool. Stay Safe

16th June - Intervals: 300m sets

With club training sessions suspended due to Coronavirus lockdown measures our 2 club coaches, Glen Johnson and Andy Sloan, will be providing you with a weekly suggestion for a quality speed / endurance session.

Tonight's session is delivered by Glen and is based on the Fanny Lane intervals we love to hate.  

Click the video link to hear Glen describe the sessions in his own words, or follow the bullet points below

• You will need to identify a nice quiet 300m section of road/trail where you can safely complete the session.
• Remember to warm up for at least 10 minutes using jogging, exercises and some short sets of strides.
• Glen suggests the following based on your normal Tuesday run group:
• Group A: 3 Sets of 3x300m with 6 minutes of active recovery between sets
• Groups B&C: 2 Sets of 3x300m with 7 minutes of active recovery between sets
• Group D: 1 set of 4x300m with a walk/jog recovers
• Finish with a steady cool down and of course, don't forget to stretch when you are finished.

Stay Safe. Keep it Harriers.

2nd June - Pyramid Speed Session

With club training sessions suspended due to Coronavirus lockdown measures our 2 club coaches, Glen Johnson and Andy Sloan, will be providing you with a weekly suggestion for a quality speed / endurance session.

Tonight is First Tuesday and Glen has devised a pyramid speed session for your enjoyment(?1?). The aim of the pyramid session is to build sustained speed and to work your Cardio Vascular system. 

Click the video link to hear Glen describe the sessions in his own words, or follow the bullet points below

• As always start with a good 10 minute warm up.
• Set of on a steady warm up run of 2k / 2 miles and then go straight into the session:
• 1x30 secs "Quick legs"
• 1x60 secs "Positive Arms"
• 1x90 secs "Quiet feet"
• 1x2mins "High Head"
• Optional 1x3mins "Breathe out hard"
• 1min active recovery between each rep with 3-4min active recovery after final rep. Then come back down.
  1x2mins,1x90secs,1x60secs,1x30secs.
• Finish with a steady cool down and of course, don't forget to stretch when you are finished.

'It's not the will to win, it's the will to prepare to win' . Enjoy.

26th May - Tempo Intervals

With club training sessions suspended due to Coronavirus lockdown measures our 2 club coaches, Glen Johnson and Andy Sloan, will be providing you with a weekly suggestion for a quality speed / endurance session.

Tonight's session is presented by Andy and it built around intervals of 1 mile targeting approximately 30seconds faster than 10k race pace.. 

Click the video link to hear Andy describe the sessions in his own words, or follow the bullet points below

• Start with a 2-3 minute warm jog, following by dynamic movements/stretches for a further 5-6 minutes.
• Begin the main session:
• Run 1 mile at a relatively comfortable pace
• Mile 2 should be at 30 seconds faster than 10k race pace 
• Mile 3 back to comfortable pace
• Mile 4 at 30 seconds faster than 10k race pace 
• Mile 5 back to comfortable pace
• Mile 6 at 30 seconds faster than 10k race pace 
• Finish with a steady cool down and of course, don't forget to stretch when you are finished.

Stay Safe. Keep Running. Look after yourselves.

19th May - Intervals: 2 sets of 4 x 400m

With club training sessions suspended due to Coronavirus lockdown measures our 2 club coaches, Glen Johnson and Andy Sloan, will be providing you with a weekly suggestion for a quality speed / endurance session.

Tonight's session is delivered by Glen and you have a choice. First there is an interval session based around 400m efforts. Alternatively you can opt for an out and back, which you will all be familiar with. Aim to run for at least 20 minutes (although you can of course go longer) before turning round and trying to run back 1 to 2 minutes quicker.

Click the video link to hear Glen describe the sessions in his own words, or follow the bullet points below

• As always start with a good 10 minute warm up.
• If you have a skipping rope, consider a few minutes of skipping to get the heart rate up; or a few of minutes jogging.
• Then incorporate some of the dynamic movements and stretches you should all be familiar with. (Lunges, A-skips, walking on tiptoes / heels, etc)
• Start your interval session:
• Run 400m and recover by jogging 400m back to the start
• Repeat 3 times (so 4 in total)
• Have a longer recovery of about 4 minutes.
• Run another set of intervals (4 x 400m)
• Aim to run the 400m efforts faster than your 5k pace, so 80- 90% effort ( you shouldn't be able to talk at the end of each rep )
• Finish with a steady cool down and of course, don't forget to stretch when you are finished.

Enjoy your running. Stay Safe.

12th May - Tempo Run: 5 miles at 10k race pace

With club training sessions suspended due to Coronavirus lockdown measures our 2 club coaches, Glen Johnson and Andy Sloan, will be providing you with a weekly suggestion for a quality speed / endurance session.

Tonight's session is delivered by Andy. Today would have been the Tadcaster 10k race as part of the summer league, so today's session is themed on a 10k race.

Click the video link to hear Andy describe the session in his own words, or follow the bullet points below

• Start with a good 10 minute warm up - a couple of minutes jogging followed by the dynamic movements and stretches you should all be familiar with. (Lunges, walking on tiptoes / heels, etc)
• When your warm up is complete, you can set off at a nice easy pace for 1 mile.
• At the 1 mile point, begin the tempo session - 5 miles at your 10k race pace.
• Cool down with another 1 miles at a very easy pace.
• Don't forget to stretch out when you get home.

As ever, use this session to think about your running form, but also today give some thought to the mental aspects of running and racing:

• Stay positive
• Run with a smile on your face - this is thought to have a beneficial effect on your performance (and good practice for those race photos you all hate).
• Don't think about how hard miles 3, 4 and 5 will be, just focus on the mile you are in and how well you are doing.
• When it starts to hurt, think "this is making me stronger".

Stay Fit. Stay Safe. Stay Active. Stay Harriers

5th May - 400m Hill Sprints

With club training sessions suspended due to Coronavirus lockdown measures our 2 club coaches, Glen Johnson and Andy Sloan, will be providing you with a weekly suggestion for a quality speed / endurance session.

Tonight's session is delivered by Andy. It's a hill sprint session and although it's hard this will lead to improvements in running form, cardio vascular and leg strength.

Click the video link to hear Andy describe the session in his own words, or follow the bullet points below (the session starts 3:06 in):

• First find a hill which is approximately 400m in length.
• Start with a good 10 minute warm up - a couple of minutes jogging followed by the dynamic movements and stretches you should all be familiar with. (Lunges, walking on tiptoes / heels, etc)
• When your warm up is completed, run HARD up the hill at about 90% effort - so not far off flat out.
• Concentrate on form, thinking about the same key points as for running on the flat
• Running tall - head held high
• Relaxed shoulders
• Shorten your stride length according to the gradient
• Try not to lean too far forwards - this will close off your lungs
• Drive with your arms
• Recovery is a SLOW jog back down the hill
• Try and complete an initial set of 4 reps, then have 2-3 minutes active recovery and go again for another set of 4
• Finish with a steady cool down and of course, don't forget to stretch when you are finished !

Enjoy !.

5th May - Solo Paarlauf

With club training sessions suspended due to Coronavirus lockdown measures our 2 club coaches, Glen Johnson and Andy Sloan, will be providing you with a weekly suggestion for a quality speed / endurance session.

Tonight would have been First Tuesday, so Glen has cooked up something HARD, courtesy of Ian Legg, the head coach at Wetherby Runners. It's a Solo Paarlauf, which make no sense whatsoever (Paarlauf literally means Pair Run i.e. 2 people), so just think of it as a hard interval session. 

Click the video link to hear Glen describe the session in his own words, or follow the bullet points below:

• First, find a suitable location - either a full size football pitch (if available) or a nice straight flat section of road about 200m in length. 
• Start with a good warm up comprising of:
• Gentle jog
• Walking high knees
• Lunges
• Walking on heels
• "A" skips
• Butt kicks
• Jogging faster
• Your interval session will be made up of repetitions of:
• Run HARD for 1/2 lap of the football pitch, then jog across the width to the start and repeat OR
• Run HARD along the flat for 150, then jog 50m, turn around to repeat 
• This is SPEED work, so make sure you run HARD - 80-90% of max speed
• A/B Groups aim for 3 x 9 min sets with 3 min recovery between sets 
• C Group aim for 3 x 7 min sets with 3.5 min recovery between sets  
• D Group aim for 3 x 6 min sets with 4 min recovery between sets 
• But also, aim for a consistent effort across the sets - if uncertain build your speed up so you complete the set
• Finish with a steady cool down and of course, don't forget to stretch when you are finished !

Warm Up. Work Hard. Warm Down. Stay Safe.

28th April - Tempo: 2 x 2.6k

With club training sessions suspended due to Coronavirus lockdown measures our 2 club coaches, Glen Johnson and Andy Sloan, will be providing you with a weekly suggestion for a quality speed / endurance session.

Tonight would have been the first race in the summer road league at Pocklington. So, Glen has devised a killer session for you based around the 10k distance but also combining the theme of the current 2.6 charity challenge. Get your race heads on folks !

Click the video link to hear Glen describe the session in his own words, or follow the bullet points below:

• Start with a good warm up at home.
• Begin with 2.6k at a steady pace
• Then run the next 2.6k hard
• Another 2.6k steady
• Finish off with 1 more 2.6k hard. Really put as much into the final 2.6k as you can
• That will give you a total of 10.4k - a perfect alternative to the summer road league
• Finish with a steady cool down and of course, don't forget to stretch when you are finished !

Have a good week. Bye for now.

21st April - Intervals: 3x1-5min at 5k Pace

With club training sessions suspended due to Coronavirus lockdown measures our 2 club coaches, Glen Johnson and Andy Sloan, will be providing you with a weekly suggestion for a quality speed / endurance session.

It's Andy again this week giving you details of a session focussing on mid-run intervals at 5k pace. Benefits of this session are improvements in your aerobic and anaerobic endurance, maintaining your VO2 max and also the ability to change pace (i..e run faster) mid-race.

Click the video link to hear Andy describe the session in his own words (the session description starts at about 2:50 in), or follow the bullet points below:

• Start with a 10 minute warm up at home. This could comprise of any combination of the following
• Jog for 3-4 minutes
• Squats
• Lunges
• Walking on tip toes, then on heels
• Heel Kicks, etc
• Now we begin the main session. Set off running and aim to repeat the following 3 times:
• Run at a moderate pace for 15 minutes. (A moderate pace should mean you can just about maintain a conversation as you run along.)
• Increase your pace to 5k race pace and hold for 1 to 5 minutes (you decide).
• Finish with a steady cool down and of course, don't forget to stretch when you are finished !
• Andy suggests you think about your runing form during the session
• relax your shoulders
• Hold your head high
• Try and look towards the horizon (but obviously keep checking you aren't going to trip up over anything !)
• Check yout hands are swinging "lips to hips"

Stay Fit. Stay Cool. Stay Safe

13th April - Out and Back Tempo Session

With club training sessions suspended due to Coronavirus lockdown measures our 2 club coaches, Glen Johnson and Andy Sloan, will be providing you with a weekly suggestion for a quality speed / endurance session.

It's Andy this week giving you details of a session you are all familiar with - the Out and Back. Good news is you can pick your own route - it doesn't have to be Warren Lane or the Catterton T-Junction. Yay ! Click the video link to hear Andy describe the session in his own words, or follow the bullet points below:

• Start with a good warm up at home.
• Now set off and run at a moderate pace for your target time. Andy suggests 26 minutes, but you can decide how long you want to run .. 20, 25, 30 mins etc. A moderate pace should mean you can just about maintain a conversation as you run along.
• When the time has elapsed, turn around and set off for home, but this time try and run 1-2 minutes faster than on the outbound leg. Note, this is not meant to be flat out - just fast enough to return a little bit faster. At this pace you might not be able to have a conversation, but you should be able to manage a few words here and there.
• Use the time to concetrate on your running form (Andy explains in the video)
• Are your shoulders relaxed ?
• Are you running upright with your head held high (good) or hunched over (bad)?
• Are your hands swinging "lips to hips" (good) or swinging across your body (bad)?
• Don't forget to stretch when you are finished

Stay Safe. Keep Running. Keep it Harriers !

6th April - 300m Intervals

With club training sessions suspended due to Coronavirus lockdown measures our 2 club coaches, Glen Johnson and Andy Sloan, will be providing you with a weekly suggestion for a quality speed / endurance session.

This week's lockdown workout is brought to you by Glen. This would have been our usual "First Tuesday" so here is something extra special based around 300m.  Click the video link to hear the Glen describe the session in his own words, or follow the bullet points below:

• You will need find a venue with a nice 300m section
• Start with a good warm up at home.
• Set off on an extended jog out towards your 300m section (Glen suggests about 3k)
• Now start the interval session:
• Run 3 x 300m with an active recovery (i.e. jog back to the start) in between each of the 300m efforts
• 3 minute active recovery
• Run another 3 x 300m with active recovery
• 3 minute active recovery
• If you are able, run a final set of 3 x 300m with active recovery
• Don't worry if you aren't able do the full 9 intervals - just do whatever you can. Concentrate on quality !
• Run Home
• Don't forget to stretch when you are finished

Keep Healthy. Keep Running. Keep it Harriers !

30th March - Glen's 7s Session

With club training sessions suspended due to Coronavirus lockdown measures our 2 club coaches, Glen Johnson and Andy Sloan, will be providing you with a weekly suggestion for a quality speed / endurance session.

This week's lockdown workout is brought to you by Glen. We are on day 7 of lockdown, so Glen has themed this session based around the number 7 ! Click the video link to hear the session described in his own words, or follow the bullet points below:

• Start with 7 minutes of warm up. For example:
• 7 reps of high knee lifts
• 7 reps of squats
• etc
• After the warm up, set off running and repeat the following as many times as you are able
• Run easy/steady for 7 minutes
• Run at threshold for 7 minutes. Threshold is about 80% effort.
• Finish the session with 7 minutes of stretching

Stay Positive. Keep Running. Stay safe. Keep it Harriers !

23rd March - Interval Session: 4 x 1 mile (or km)

With club training sessions suspended due to Coronavirus lockdown measures our 2 club coaches, Glen Johnson and Andy Sloan, will be providing you with a weekly suggestion for a quality speed / endurance session.

This week it's Andy's turn with his 4 x 1 mile (or km) interval session. Click the video link to hear the session described in his own words, or follow the bullet points below:

• Nice easy warm up to start with - Andy suggests 2 miles. Don't forget to add in some dynamic movements (lunges etc) to get those muscles nicely warmed up.
• Repeat the following 4 times:
• 1 mile (or km) at 10k pace
• 90 seconds recovery
• Nice steady cool down - Andy suggests 2 miles
• Don't forget to stretch after the session !

Stay safe. Keep Running !

Chris Hollinshead Training Session - 9th October 2018

Thank you 

I would like to thank everyone at Tadcaster for the warm welcome I received last night.

Until last night I didn't realise there were two 12 o'clock in a day 

Last night there were four key sessions operated and all took in the hill. These could be adapted ( time out running, volume and intensity) to meet the individual needs of the runners and operated on a rotating basis over a period of time e.g. 12 weeks

Group A: 

35 mins tempo running @ 10 mile pace

The above session develops capacity to cruise at a higher aerobic speed over differing terrain e.g. Flat and hills

Group B:

10 mins aerobic

5 x circuit (up and down hill) with a jog/ walk along flat section of road 

10 mins aerobic

The above session may help to prepare runners to maintain a pace when feeling tired after a climb.

Group C :

2 sets of 5 x hills

Alternate between hill rep and hill rep plus downhill. Recovery between reps - perceived recovery based on being able to talk easily again

The above session helps runners to develop capacity to regain composure and accelerate off a hill.

Group D:

3 sets of 3 x hill reps with walk/ jog back recovery (3 mins between sets)

The above session develops strength endurance to tackle inclines.

Tip of the day: 

You may come across races that contain either sharp bends or cones to run around, resulting in rapid deceleration and acceleration.

Practice this in training eg with a traffic cone, and focus on development of a controlled deceleration and acceleration through a chosen racing line. How much time could be saved in a race through technical development?

Thank you again for inviting me back. If you need anything else please contact me or post up.

Club Run Session 1

Tuesday 13th March saw the much anticipated first training session with EA Level 4 Endurance Coach Chris Hollinshead. Chris has over 20 years experience coaching athletes of all levels, and still competes at a high level.

Chris emphasized the importance of a good warm up and took us for a 20 minute warm up session, designed to mobilise all muscle groups and tendons that would be used for the session, increasing effort levels so we were ready to run at pace.

We then split into four groups. led by the run leaders (Andy Sloan, Dave Mullaney, Glen Johnson and Celia McRoyall):

Group A:  6-7min mile group
4 sets of running at 5k pace for 4 minutes followed by 30 seconds recovery before increasing the tempo to 1500m pace for 60 seconds. Active recovery of 2.5 minutes between sets. The idea being to get the athletes body used to running at a higher speed.

Group B: 8-9 min group
3 sets of running at 5k pace for 3 minutes followed by 2.5 minutes active recovery; 2 minutes at 3k pace followed by 1.5 minutes active recovery; 1 minute at 1500m pace. 3.5 minutes recovery between sets. Again the idea here is to get your body used to running at higher speed.

Group C: 9-10 min mile group
5 sets of 3 minutes at 5k/10k pace. Run out for 1.1/2 minutes before turning around and running back. The aim is to run back faster than when they went out. 3 minutes active recovery between sets. Once again aiming to increase the speed you can maintain over these distances.

Group D: 10-11 min mile group
5 sets of 2 minutes at 5k/10k pace. Run out for 1 minute before turning around and running back. The aim is to run back faster than when they went out. 3 minutes active recovery between sets

Chris also gave plenty of advice relating to training for distance events such as either concentrating on increasing distance or intensity and that you cannot achieve both. If you are training specifically for marathon distance then don't expect to be able to increase your speed at the smaller distances (5k/10k etc). He also stressed not increasing workload above 10%, and building up in phases  with recovery phases built in.

Chris is a member of our Facebook Group and welcomes any questions you may have about the training or running in general.

The next session is on the 27th March (meet at Magnets for a 6.45pm start)