Info for new starters

The Club Training Nights are at 7:00pm sharp from The Clubhouse in Bushy Park. These are held every Tuesday and Thursday, every week, all year.

Is it suitable for beginners?

Sportsworld has members of all ages, and abilities. People competing at national level and people who just want to run to keep fit and for enjoyment. Although there are athletes competing in elite competitions there is no elitism. Everyone starts training together and usually do the same basic training session which is tapered for the training group into which a person falls.

How much is it to join Sportsworld?

Annual membership of Sportsworld Running Club is €90.

How do I join?

Come down any Tuesday or Thursday and ask for Emily Dowling our club coach and she will get you started.

Weekly Informal Runs

There are training runs almost every day of the week. Once you know your level and fitness you can join in with the group right for you. Check with any Club Member for more details but remember, you will be more than welcome. These are usually in Bushy Park or Marley Park or in close proximity to our Clubhouse. Runs can start at 5:00pm through to 7:00pm.

Weekend Runs

On Saturday and Sunday there are lots of different runs. Again, once you find your level, do join in. Saturday runs are often in the Phoenix Park or Bushy Park and usually start at 9-9:30am

The Sunday Run

Sunday is historically the ‘long run’ and if you are preparing for a Marathon, these are just for you. Depending on your fitness and level, there is always a group for you. Long runs are normally in the Phoenix Park or the Waterworks in Ballinascorney. These runs can start anytime from 8:30am to 9:30am and range from around 8 miles to 20 depending on your goals. Check with your club mates for further details.

Where do you train?

Training takes place in the park during the summer and in the Rathfarnham area during the winter. Many of the common training routes are shown on the right sidebar.

There are various training sessions you may eencounter at the club. We hope they will be of some use in explaining the benefits of differing ways of enjoying your running at Sportsworld. If you want to improve your training, we strongly suggest that you adopt some of these methods along with using the benefit of the qualified coaches knowledge and experience.

Easy Runs and Rest Days

Easy runs are essentially recovery runs, used to follow faster training days i.e. fast runs, intervals, fartlek, time trials, race days etc. Easy training days should be about 1 minute or so per mile slower than the race pace of your chosen distance, for example: add on 1min/20% of the race pace of 6min per mile i.e. 7min per mile = 80% max effort. The reason for this are twofold:

  1. The body needs to replenish glucose storage levels to normal following hard training sessions. Easy runs and rest days will enable the body to recover, without calling too much upon this energy source.
  2. Running faster, trains the aerobic glycolysis system more than the fat energy burning metabolism. Fats burn for many times longer than glucose sources, but in contrast they are much less efficient in supporting the higher levels of intense sustained effort. However, by training at an easier pace, it will encourage the fat energy sources to be used more often, making them more efficient and provoking a training response which will supplement any overtaxed glucose energy supply.

Steady Runs

Steady runs should be done at an equal pace throughout the distance covered. You will find that during the course of your training, steady state running will increase in tempo as you get fitter. It is rather like climbing a set of stairs, each step puts you on a new level of speed and durability. Steady state sessions should be done at roughly 35 seconds per mile slower than you chosen race pace, for example: add on 35 seconds/10% of race pace of 6min per mile. i.e. 6min 35secs = 90% max effort.

Fartlek

A fartlek run is rather like a random interval session run on a either road, track or a cross country type course. It consists of bursts of speed of between 100 to 300 metres with a jog recovery and can be done over any reasonably long distance. An alternative is to run hard for, say, 1-2 minutes with a recovery jog of double the duration of the hard run (1min hard – 2min easy). As your training progresses this ratio can be reduced from 1 hard – 2 easy to 1 hard – 1east. Start off these sessions with about a 1 mile easy warm up, end the session with at least a half mile easy warm down (80 – 90% all out effort).

Intervals

Intervals can be run on any type of surface – track, road or grass. They consist of fast runs over fixed distances with a fixed timed rest or jog interval between each run and or set of runs. Distances can range from as little as 50 metres (for anaerobic type training) up to 1mile (for aerobic type training). You should try and keep each repetition to around about the same duration and keep strictly to your rest/jog intervals i.e. if you complete the first mile in say 7 minutes try and do the following reps in roughly the same time, with recovery jog or rest of an equal time period.

Again it would be beneficial for you to start off these sessions with at least a 1 mile warm up, ending the session with at least a half mile warm down.

Here are some examples of interval sessions: at 85 – 90% effort

Anaerobic 200 metres x 6 with a timed recovery equal
200 metres x 6 with a 200 metre jog recovery
Aerobic 800 metres x 4 with a timed recovery
800 metres x 4 with a 400 metre jog/walk recovery

Once the body gets accustomed to this type of training you can either step up slowly the amount of repetitions or sets of reps, or you can increase the work / rest ratio. i.e. from 1 to 2 ratio down to 1 to 1 ratio then 1 to .75 ratio.

Of course the times between reps and sets will vary with ability, consult a coach for more information.
Some coaches do not advise hard interval sessions for veteran athletes, it is therefore wise to start off at a low intensity building up as you ability and confidence grows.

Pace / Tempo Runs

Training for long distance racing requires certain disciplines, one of the most important being the need to maintain self control over your race pace. You will therefore need to train at your optimum pace to realise your desired race time. If for example you wish to do a marathon in under 3 hours, you would need to run at around 6 minute 40 second pace for at least the first 20 miles; after which you might expect to slow a little, therefore allowing yourself to cruise in for the remaining 6.2 miles. To do this it is necessary then to train at your selected pace and keep to it throughout your pace runs. You will find after a while that by running at an even pace you will begin almost automatically to adopt a controlled attitude to your pace/tempo training days.