What’s the plan for our regular club runs?
With the Couch to 5 K having reached its end for this time round, we hope to see many of those runners join our regular club sessions. Here’s what to expect for those regular club sessions.
Our regular club runs will continue as per normal every Tuesday and Thursday at 6.30pm at our normal meeting point. If you want to get into running and keep it going then you’ve come to the right place. We welcome both old and new runners to these sessions!
The plan is to alternate our sessions so that every week we will have one session that is a distance run and one session that is some form of interval session. Below is a bit more information about these types of sessions.
Distance run
So one session per week will be a distance run which could be anything from a 5km route and onwards depending on the people who are there on the day. We tailor it to fit all abilities. Those who have a bit more speed in their legs are as always able to add distance by running ahead and looping back to the rest of the group.
Once a month, if possible, there will be an option of a longer / harder / faster run on a Tuesday evening. We will be going further, probably 10K, and will need to be a bit quicker so we can finish at a sensible time. The usual club rules still apply; we loop back to the slowest in the group and no-one gets dropped.
One route might be down to Ironbridge, along the old railway past the Woodbridge and up Pound Lane. Another is starting from Ironbridge, through Coalbrookdale and up to Rough Park as a demo of part of the Ironbridge half route.
The regular club run will still take place at the same time so there is something for everyone.
Interval sessions
When we say interval sessions then this brings up a load of different thoughts for different people.
Many take a step back when they hear the word “intervals” the first time. I (Johanna) used to be one of them. You might worry that it’s too complicated or at a much higher level than where you feel you’re at. That’s what I thought as well as fearing it would be really hard work and depressing because I’d surely not do as well as everybody else. After giving it a go I realised it’s the complete opposite – it’s probably the most inclusive type of session as they come! Anyone can do it – regardless of if you are a beginner or a seasoned runner you are able to do it and get something out of it.
So let’s give you two different examples of interval sessions we may organise. One is actually us going out for what may seem like a normal distance run, but we add in a bit of extra hills or some sprinting steps part way through the route. We tend to call those “distance intervals”. The other one is the “fun intervals” where we perhaps use the Birchmeadow for the session. It might be running at different paces around the field. For example a gentle jog along the long side of the football pitch and a hard run along the short side of the pitch. The aim is to build up the strength and stamina so that you can enjoy the distance runs even more.
For me, our interval sessions has been such a great way to build up my confidence and allow myself to get out of breath! I know it’s safe because I’m always in sight of my fellow runners and of the meeting point. I know I can push a bit extra if I want because I don’t need to worry about having enough energy to make it back. Equally, if I’m not feeling it then I can just plod along at what ever pace I’m comfortable with. I hope you never feel like you’re holding other people back – but if you sometimes battle with such thoughts, then intervals is the perfect session for you because you could crawl it if you wanted and everyone else could still go the pace they wanted without you worrying about falling behind!
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