“Assuming you can already run five kilometres without stopping, you’ll only need to tweak one of your regular runs to achieve your goal,” says athletics coach Greg McMillan.
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Do one of these training sessions a week, alternating among the three. Run your regular course on three other days. You’ll be speedy in no time.
Go Long
The Goal: To ensure that your legs and lungs can easily go the distance.
The Workout: Run for 40 minutes at a pace of six minutes per kilometre (10km/h). Run an extra 10 minutes each session until you can run for 70 minutes.
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Go Hard
The Goal: To run a kilometre in five minutes.
The workout: Jog for 10 minutes, then do three 800m runs in four minutes each, resting two minutes in-between. Repeat this sequence every other time you do it.
Go Fast
The Goal: To finish with a kick.
The Workout: After a 15-minute jog, do four 30-second sprints at 90 percent of your maximum effort. Add two sprints each time, until you can do 10 to 12.
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Cap a long run with a light, high-rep set to stimulate growth hormone. Explosive jumping drills can help to reduce muscle soreness.
