Tuesday Speed Sessions

Anyone who has read about training schedules and programmes will know that a speed session is one of the essential elements for those who ultimately want to become faster runners.

So why is a speed session good for you? Basically, what we try to do in a speed session is take people out of their comfort zone by getting them to run at a faster-than-race-pace for a short period. This improves your fitness in several ways:
- increases your V02 max (the amount of oxygen you can take in and use effectively)
- increases your lactate threshold (the point at which you are producing more lactic    acid than you can get rid of)
- gets your legs used to moving faster

Put simply, we encourage you to put yourself in a situation that mimics that point in a race when your legs are heavy and tired and your lungs are bursting - but because it’s over a short period you don’t suffer for days afterwards. Remember the coaching adage ‘train hard, race easy’, that’s what we are aiming for.