Try this short tune-up workout ahead of your next race

Figuring out what to do in the last few days or weeks leading up to your goal race is tricky. Do too much, and you risk being tired and burnt out when race day rolls around. Do too little, and you feel sluggish and stiff–like you forgot how to run in the days since your last workout. This quick session is a great way to put in some work before your race without tiring you out before you toe the line. 

The idea behind this workout is to practise the pace you’re going to run on race day, so that the “memory” of what that speed should feel like is fresh in your legs when you get to the start line. A small amount of faster work in the middle keeps you from feeling stale or sluggish and builds confidence, and returning to race pace for the final section of the workout forces you to find that speed again, which is good practice if you accidentally go out a bit too hard on race day.

When you do this workout depends on what type of race you have on the calendar. If it’s a marathon, you should do this no closer than a week before your race. If you’re running a half-marathon, you could do it five to seven days ahead of your race, and if you’ve got a 10K or 5K on the calendar, you could slot this into your schedule three to five days out.

The workout

Warmup: 10 minutes’ easy jog

Workout: 

10 minutes at goal pace/3 minutes easy jog

5 minutes at slightly faster than goal pace/2 minutes easy jog

10 minutes at goal pace

Cooldown: 5-10 minutes’ easy jog, followed by light stretching