We're nearing the end of the heavy sessions in our plan to take you to 10k by May 4th, so focus in on your pace so that you're getting the most out of this week before we taper off in week six. You're closing in on your goal so just keep the good work going now and try to focus on the big day that's right around the corner.

Don't forget to visit the Wings For Life registration page here!

Eyes on the prize:

Nearing the end mark in your training plan you should be feeling strong and fit. If you're feeling a bit tight and tired, now's the time to pull back on your pace a bit or to remove some of the non-running sessions from the week. We don't want to overload in this plan, it's all about steady progress. Can you hold a conversation when you're training? That's the pace we're looking for.

Some Things To Consider

A lot of work will be done this week towards your goal of running non-stop for 10k with some long distance runs in the mix, so it's important that we develop and maintain good habits to improve performance and avoid injury. One area that this can be done, with a bit of consideration and mental focus, is your running technique.

Six Easy Improvements To Your Running Technique

Posture

You shouldn't need your mother to remind you how important good posture is. Running in optimum posture is paramount as it has knock on effects to your breathing, stride length and muscle tightness. Keep your head up, back straight and push your pelvis slightly forward so that your core is engaged. Chances are that this is how you would run if you were sprinting, but at an easy pace it's easy to allow your body to fall into a weaker position.

Focus Ten Metres Ahead

To keep your head up you don't need to strain your neck, just focus your eyes about ten metres ahead and stay loose. Good posture starts with your head, so even when you feel like dropping your head down,in order to power through the final stages of a session just remember that even Usain Bolt runs with his head up when he's at his fastest.

Loosey Goosey

Stay relaxed. At first, it will seem odd to adjust your posture and positioning when running, but don't tense and strain your muscles. Stay relaxed in your posture (and your mind) so that your momentum will carry you through in a controlled way. No matter how hard you try, pumping your arms while running won't make you go any faster.

Breathe Easy

Just open your mouth. If you breathe through your mouth when running rather than your nose you'll probably have improved your breathing already. Those shallow panting breathes are a last resort as your body becomes starved of oxygen, feed it while you can with ‘belly breathes'. Rather than sucking in air through your nose and only using the top of your lungs. Use your mouth to use the entirety of your lungs.

Don't Bounce

It can look and feel a whole lot more like exercise when your body is bouncing around the park, but really it's a waste of energy and will decrease your speed. Maintain good posture with your head up and try to keep your feet close to the ground between steps. Each stride shouldn't be a bouncing jump forward, your centre of gravity (torso and head) should only move slightly up and down while you run.

Get Bent!

Properly bending your elbows and knees relieves the load on your muscles throughout a run. When you're at cruising speed, your shin and forearm should be parallel to the ground mid-swing.

Week 5: Survival of the fittest

By the end of this week, you could be fitter than you've ever been in your life! You'll certainly be at peak fitness for the Wings for Life World Run, which is only two weeks away. Keep that day on May 4th in the Ring of Kerry in your mind when you're pushing through in the heavier sessions, such as day three, here. You're going to be tempted to give it your all, especially on the tempo run at the end of day three, but hold back here and keep a manageable pace so that you've got all the energy you need on race day.

Warm up before and cool down after each session with some dynamic stretching and try to eat something, anything at all, within half an hour after each session. Take at least one day for rest each week.

Day 1: Rest or non-running session for 20 minutes

Day 2: Run for 20-30 minutes

Day 3: Run for 45-50 minutes, optimal tempo run by picking up the pace the last 15 minutes

Day 4: Rest or non-running session for 20 minutes

Day 5: Run for 35-45 minutes

Day 6: Rest or 10-20 minutes light jog

Day 7: Run for 50-60 minutes

More: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4