Couch, 5k, 10k, half, marathon, ultra marathon and more, the range of distances and events available to new and experienced runners is huge.
Understanding your motivation for choosing an event, looking at your background and your general strength and mobility play a part in determining the suitable running program for you.
The principles for run training look to cover:
- Intensity
- Volume
- Frequency / repetition
- Environment, terrain, surface, elevation gain/loss
- Cadence and stride length
For example two 10 minute intervals can target completely different energy systems if you change your pace, one at the high end of your aerobic intensity to develop your aerobic endurance or a pace at your lactate threshold to develop your ability to produce and process lactate.
As the simplest form of exercise we were designed to run and so run training looks to develop your energy systems to run faster for the same effort alternatively to run for less effort at the same pace.