Pace & Workout Notes
Tap any pace type to expand the coaching notes. Refer back whenever you want a refresher on how each session should feel.
Easy Pace As it sounds — easy. You should be able to talk while you run.
The easy pace is the bedrock of the whole programme. It builds your aerobic engine without breaking you down.
Test: can you hold a conversation in full sentences? If yes, you're at the right pace. If you're gasping out a few words at a time, you're going too hard.
Most runners go too fast on their easy runs. Resist the urge — the gains come from doing easy days easy, so you can do the hard days hard.
Working Mile / Km Harder than easy, but not flat out.
A working kilometre is run at a comfortably hard pace — somewhere between easy pace and race pace.
Test: you should be able to say a short sentence, but not hold a full conversation. Breathing should feel rhythmic and controlled, not laboured.
These appear at the END of your long run. The point is to teach your body to push pace when fatigued — exactly what race day demands.
200m / 400m Intervals Hard sprints with full recovery between each.
Intervals build leg speed, VO2 max, and lactate tolerance. The recovery period is just as important as the work — it's what lets you hit the next interval hard.
For 200m intervals: aim for 90% effort. You should be running fast, but with form intact. 1 minute recovery (walk or very slow jog) between each.
For 400m intervals: drop to about 85% effort because they're twice as long. 2 minutes recovery between each.
Don't sandbag the recovery. Walking is fine — the point is to be fresh enough to nail the next rep.
Race Pace We'll talk about picking your race pace a few weeks out.
Race pace is the speed you want to hold for the full 10k on race day. It's the most important pace to know — and the hardest to get right.
We'll dial this in together a few weeks out from the race, based on how the programme is going and your time goal.
Race-pace runs appear in the last few weeks of the programme. Treat them as dress rehearsals: same shoes, same fuel, same warm-up you'll use on race day.