With Coach Kelvin, offering Online Running Coaching for We Run and the We Run Virtual Running Club, and 1:1 Running Coach for Leeds and surrounding areas.
What is Workout Execution?
Hi folks, it’s Kelvin here. We Run Coach for Leeds and surrounding areas as well as online coaching. In this little video, I’m going to share some thoughts on workout execution.
When we think about workout execution, we often think about individual reps and how we manage those. But in this case, I’m going to look at workout execution through a slightly longer lens.
Structuring Weekly Workouts
The first thing I do on my training plan is usually two workouts a week. One of those might be a longer run, and one might be a mid-length run with some intensity in it. That’s usually on a weekend. Then I’ll do something midweek, which can be on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday depending on my schedule and who I’m running with.
If I’ve got a workout on a Wednesday, I look backwards and forwards a week either side of that session. I want to know what load is already in my legs so I can work out how I’m likely to feel in the workout I’m about to do.
I also look a week ahead to see what I’ve got coming up. I don’t want to destroy myself on a Wednesday and then realise I’ve got something really chunky at the weekend that I still need to complete.
As we know, increasing fitness is about applying a certain amount of training load, including some intensity, week in, week out, year in, year out. So I don’t want to overcook myself and have to skip a workout.
I’ll look back and think, okay, there’s quite a bit of load in my legs, which gives me a gauge on how the workout is likely to feel. I’ll also look ahead to make sure I’m not overdoing it.
Taking a Step Back from the Workout
Then I’ll zoom in a little bit to the workout itself. I want to look at it holistically before I start.
Let’s say that workout is five times one kilometre at 5K intensity. That would be a really tough workout. I can expect the perceived effort in that last rep to be close to a 10 out of 10.
Now, that workout could also be 10 times one kilometre at half marathon intensity. If I take a little step back and look at that session as a whole, that’s an intensity I could hold for 21 kilometres. So that’s actually quite a soft workout. When I see that, I know it’s not going to be savage or very difficult to complete, and I should feel relatively good by the end.
It’s really important to take that step back and understand what we’re trying to achieve. Whether you’ve scheduled it yourself or your coach has written it, ask: what are we trying to get out of that day?
Is it something that’s going to be really difficult to complete, or is it something that’s going to be relatively soft?
Because what I often see is that I might program 10 times one kilometre at half marathon intensity – which is a soft workout – and the runner just sees “10 x 1K”, puts the blinkers on, and runs it closer to 10K pace. That’s not what I was trying to achieve from that session.
Warming Up and Fuelling Properly
It’s also important to make sure we have a consistent warmup leading into the workout. It’s not uncommon for me to program one kilometre easy, then a couple of kilometres steady with some surges, strides, or a bit of progression.
I’ll almost always include in the workout notes that during the warmup it’s wise to take 20 to 30 grams of carbohydrate, and then maybe another 20 to 30 grams in the middle of the workout.
At the end of the workout, make sure recovery is in place. Start with fluids – some water and electrolytes – and then usually within about 15 minutes of finishing, have an easily absorbable carbohydrate and some protein.
For me, that’s chocolate milk every single time. For others, it can be different things, but that early recovery window is really important. Then have a small meal within an hour or a full meal within a couple of hours of finishing the session.
The Importance of Smart Execution
The main point I’m trying to get across is that we shouldn’t just roll into workouts with blinkers on and do exactly what it says without context.
It’s a bit more complicated than that. We need to look at the load already in our legs, what we’ve got to achieve after the workout, and make sure we fuel and recover from that session as well as possible.
I hope that makes some sort of sense. If you have any questions about workout execution that go a little bit beyond this, please pop them in the comments below.
For now, happy running!
