TRY A KENYAN DAY

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This is particularly relevant to triathletes seeking to boost their run. It comes from former world champion Tim Don, who recently finished third at the World Ironman 70.3 Championships (1.9km swim, 90km bike, 21.1km run), and calls it ‘Kenyan’ because it’s purely run-focused. After waking and having a shot of caffeine – research proves a positive neurological and fatburning effect – Don works through a gentle 3.5-4km run followed by static lunges to prepare for the more intense runs later in the day. ‘Then I jog 3-4km back home followed by porridge and coffee,’ Don says.

He ups the ante for the second workout later in the morning – six one-mile (1.6km) reps at a medium-to-high intensity with 75sec recovery. He follows this with a protein/carb meal such as chicken and rice with salad – plus another coffee.

‘Then at 5pm, I have my “MMM” session,’ says Don. ‘It stands for medium, moderate and mad. It’s 12min, 12min, 12min, increasing the pace until that last 12min is flat out.’ If you can finish the last 3km downhill, it encourages fast cadence even under intense fatigue, which is useful for triathlon finishes.

PLANNING YOUR SESSION

It’s extreme, so twice a month is fine. Do it on a weekend day, ideally a Saturday so you can recover on the Sunday.