BERRY fliEs flAG fOR GB AT WEYMOUTH

Monday: Rest Tuesday: 30 minutes

- easy, running continuously

last 5 minutes steady for the Wednesday: Rest

minutes Thursday: 40

– easy continuously

Friday: Rest Saturday: Rest

(6K) Sunday: 4 miles

– easy continuously Tri Spirit’s Steve Berry finished fourth in his age-group at the Long Distance European Triathlon Championships in Weymouth on Sunday .

Berry (pictured right) represented Great Britain in the event – which attracted the cream of triathletes from home and abroad – producing a strong hardpaced effort, finishing 26th overall in 10 hours 05 minutes 07 seconds.

Berry’s split times were: swim 1:13.03, bike 5:03.28 and a 3:40.22 in the marathon.

The work required steps up a little in the fifth week of our training plan to help beginners prepare for the Givaudan Ashford 10k, which takes place on Sunday, October 11.

The plan is recommended by last year’s race winner, GB runner Phil Hurst and provides an eight-week guide aimed at making sure you are in the best possible shape on the big day.

The race, hosted

by

Elsewhere, husband and wife Nick Whitfield and Cecilia Herrara raced at Dorney Lake at the HSBC Triathlon.

Whitfield opted for the standard triathlon, 1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run and finish in 2:33.40, while Herrara took on the sprint distance finishing in 2:04.33.

Greg Steel raced in his first triathlon, at Bodiam Castle in East Sussex, recording an impressive 1:33.37 over the sprint distance. Ashford AC and organised on their behalf by Sporting Events UK, is regularly rated as one of the best 10k races in the South and follows a town centre route with the start and finish in the Julie Rose Stadium.

Mark Taylor was the leading Tri Sprit man home in 1:17.05.

Christine Costiff was fifth lady home in 1.27.38, while club-mate Andy Stewart – making his debut for the team – came home a second behind.

Amber King and husband Gary took part in the annual London to Canterbury Cycle Challenge to raise funds for the Children’s Trust on Sunday.

The trust is the country’s leading charity for children with brain injuries. Running workouts: Don’t worry about how fast you can run; just try and cover the distance – or approximately the distance suggested. Ideally, you should be able to run at a pace that allows you to converse comfortably while you do so. This isn’t always easy for beginners, so don’t push too hard or too fast. Under this workout plan, you run three days of the week: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays – Sundays being a longer run. The specific intensities for the sessions are described below: Very easy: A pace that is very comfortable and you can run for another 20 minutes Easy: A pace you can run comfortably and hold a conversation Steady: A pace that is brisk and you can only talk for one or two sentences Hard: A pace that is fast where you have difficulty in talking Rest: The most important days in any running program is rest. Rest days are as vital as training days. They give your muscles time to recover so you can run again. Actually, your muscles will build in strength as you rest. Without recovery days, you may risk injury and limit the benefits from the previous run. Long runs: The longest runs of the eight-week schedule are planned for Sundays, since you probably have more time to do them on the weekends. If Sunday isn’t a convenient day for your long runs, feel free to do them on Saturday – or any other day of the week for that matter. What pace should you run? Go slow. There is no advantage to going fast during your long runs, even for experienced runners.