THE ULTIMATE 10-MINUTE WORKOUT
Whether you have 10 minutes or two hours to spare for your run,
here’s how to make the most of your available training time
A COMMON RUNNER’S QUESTION IS: how do I best use the limited time available in between all the chores and tasks of daily life? The answer depends on how much time you can spare for running – but also on the purpose of your training. Here, we offer eight highly effective workouts with durations from 10-120 minutes to help you use your time budget most efficiently. One or two of these workouts per week should be enough to give your training a push in the right direction (see Advantages). On the other days, you can do an easy run or some other type of training that suits your time, desires and mood. Don’t let time be a tyrant when it comes to your training.
The 10-minute workout
Advantages / Quick and simple.
How to do it / There are two variants. The second is slightly harder.
Option 1 / Run faster than your usual training pace (don’t sprint) for 10 steps on each foot. Return to an easier pace for the next 10 steps on each foot, then do 20 fast steps on each foot, followed by 20 easy steps (count how often your right foot lands). Continue the increases by 10 steps each time until you have reached 60 quick and 60 easy steps. Then reduce by 10 until you’re back to 10 quick and 10 easy. In total, this should take about 10 minutes.
Option 2 / The exertion curve for this workout rises to the middle and then drops off. Start for one minute at an easy pace, then start getting quicker every minute or two until you reach at least your 5K race pace for minutes five and six. Then slow down every minute or two until the 10 minutes are up.
Bear in mind / This is a short session, but demanding. If you have time, walk for a couple of minutes to loosen your muscles before starting.
The 20-minute workout
Advantages / A cardiovascular workout that doesn’t take long. Great preparation for hilly runs, because it strengthens the quads.
How to do it / The basic principle is a sequence of steep hill runs of one minute, alternating with recovery of one minute. There are 10 reps in all. Take a couple of minutes to warm up and warm down. If you prefer to do the workout outside, you’ll need to find an incline that will allow you to run up for a full minute. In the recovery break, jog back to the start. You can reduce the training load by shortening the intervals to 30 seconds and increasing the reps to 20. This is a good option if you can’t find a hill that is long enough.
You could also do this on a treadmill that allows an incline of 12-15 per cent. It requires a little experimentation to find the maximum incline that you can tolerate for the 10 reps. In the recovery minutes, just jump off the treadmill.
Bear in mind / When you find the right pace and incline, this is a highly efficient and intensive training session. ►
The 30-minute workout
Advantages / Improves performance over all race distances by raising the lactate threshold (race pace at which oxygen demand and oxygen consumption remain in balance). Improves ability to run comfortably at a higher pace.
How to do it / After a five-minute warm-up comes a faster 20-minute run that should be around six seconds per kilometre slower than your current
10K race pace. This pace should be ‘comfortably hard’, with the effort being between your easy training pace and a harder interval-run pace. Finish with five minutes of gentle jogging.
Bear in mind / The aim of a speed endurance run is not to exhaust yourself completely. You should feel quite tired at the end, but also have the feeling that you could continue if you had to. Because the goal here is to maintain an even pace, a track is the perfect place for this session.
The 40-minute workout
Advantages / Better running economy (thanks to more efficient oxygen utilisation), increased cadence and improved ability to run at pace.
How to do it / Warm up for 10 minutes on a track or measured section of path. Run 2x200m at a pace matching your best average pace for four laps (1,600m) of a track or a mile race. The second 200m should begin two minutes after starting the first 200m. After two more minutes (measured from the beginning of the fast interval), run 400m at the same pace as you ran the 200m section. Continue to jog until eight minutes after the beginning of the speed intervals (or four minutes from the start of the 400m interval). That’s one set. Do two more sets and then warm down.
Bear in mind / Stick to the timings. They are tailored to 5K and 10K runners, but if you’re more at home over middle-distance, you can increase your pace in the 400m.
The 50-minute workout
Advantages / A classic combination of speed endurance and running economy for anyone looking to improve their times for distances up to 10K. This session trains your concentration and the ability to maintain an even pace.
How to do it / Warm up for 10 minutes at a jog and then run 5x4 minutes at a fast pace, with a three-minute jogging break between each rep. Here, ‘fast’ means an effort that you feel you can maintain for 10-15 minutes, so at the end of the four minutes you should feel as if you could keep going for a few more minutes. End the session with five minutes of jogging.
Bear in mind / Here are some useful guidelines for interval training: 1) The recovery phases should be the same length as, or slightly shorter than, the running phase. 2) The total distance of the hardest efforts shouldn’t exceed 10 per cent of your weekly distance.
The 60-minute workout
Advantages / This workout is ideal if you’re not focused on a specific race distance. It switches between paces and improves running efficiency, cadence and concentration. By switching between long, brisk sections to even faster short ‘speed injections’, you will improve your ability to finish strongly.
How to do it / After a 10-minute jog, do three reps of six minutes at threshold pace (approximately six seconds per kilometre slower than your 10K race pace), with a one-minute jogging break after the first two faster reps and three minutes of jogging after the third rep. Then run 3x1km at a fast pace. After the first 1,000m, jog for two minutes; after the second, jog for four minutes. The workout is finished off with either 4x200m or 2x400m at approximately your mile race pace. The quick 200m sections begin every two minutes, while the quick 400m sections begin every four minutes, each with jog recoveries in between. Cool down for five minutes.
The 90-minute workout
Advantages / Improves running efficiency and increases lactate threshold. You also learn how to be more comfortable at a faster training pace. This provides the same aerobic effects in 90 minutes and burns as many calories as a two-hour run (in addition to the interval-training effect).
How to do it / Start by warming up for 10 minutes; then run for 20 minutes at threshold pace (about six seconds per kilometre slower than your 10K race pace) and then for 60 minutes at your long-run pace. The 20 ‘quick’ minutes can also be done as 2x9 minutes with two minutes of jogging, or 3x6 minutes each, with one minute of recovery jogging. Another variation, which will further increase your staying power, is to do the 20 minutes at threshold pace after the 70 easier minutes. This workout is intended as preparation for a marathon or half marathon, but it can provide a welcome change from tempo runs for 5K and 10K runners.
The 120-minute workout
Advantages / Helps your body get accustomed to conserving its energy supplies, raises the lactate threshold, improves efficiency and prepares you for long runs at a relatively quick pace.
How to do it / Warm up for 10 minutes; then do 20 minutes at threshold pace and 60 minutes at long-run pace. Then do 20 minutes at threshold pace before ending with 10 easy minutes. The first pace section can be split up into 2x9 minutes, with a two-minute jogging break, while the final quick section can also be done as 3x6 minutes, with a jogging minute between each rep. The intensity of this workout can be varied by shortening or lengthening the quick sections, but make sure that the total time of the threshold-pace sections does not exceed 50 minutes.
Bear in mind / This is harder than your normal two-hour run and should not replace it often – no more than once every three weeks and not in the two weeks before a marathon.