4 quick quality workouts for busy runners

Training for an important race, but running short on time? Even the most dedicated athletes occasionally find themselves scrambling to fit quality training sessions in between life commitments. Here are four short but efficient workouts you can pull off during your lunch hour, and still manage to have a quick shower.

Short and sweet tempo session

Whitney Heins, coach and founder of The Mother Runners, schedules this one for the athletes she coaches when they need the most bang for their buck.

Warm up with 5-10 minutes of easy running.

Run 20 minutes at a moderately hard effort (you should be able to speak in short sentences, but you wouldn’t want to have a conversation).

Cool down with 5-10 minutes of easy running.

If you have more time, Heins suggests lengthening the tempo part of the run up to 30 minutes, or doing 2 by 20-minute intervals with a 2-minute rest in between.

Hill repeats

Even if you’re not training for a hilly race, a hill session is a great way to get your heart rate up fast and your legs working hard.

Warm up with 10-20 minutes of easy running.

Find a moderate-grade hill that is at least 200 metres long.

Run 5-12 repeats at a hard, sustained effort. Adjust your effort depending on the length of your hill—if the hill is only 200 metres long, run it at a 5K effort. For a longer hill, aim for a 10K effort—find a tough pace, but one that you can maintain up the entire hill.

Run downhill at a very easy pace to recover.

Cool down with 10 minutes of easy running.

Sub-race pace session

This is a great marathon-prep workout, but if you’re training for a different distance, simply adjust the race pace accordingly.

Warm up with eight minutes of easy running.

Run 4 x 1 mile at 10–20 seconds faster than your goal marathon race pace, with 45 seconds recovery jog after each interval.

Cool down with eight minutes of easy running.

Race pace repeats

This workout is a favourite of Luke Humphrey, coach and author of Hansons Marathon Method. As you gain strength, Humphrey suggests limiting recovery time to one minute.

Warm up with 10 minutes of easy running.

Run 5 x 5 minutes at marathon pace, with a 2.5-minute recovery jog between repeats.

Cool down with 5 minutes of easy running.

Remember to take an easy running or recovery day after any hard workout or speed session (even a short one).