WITH time at a premium for many people who have so many work, family and social commitments to attend to, it is sometimes difficult to maintain an effective training schedule. A shortage of time in which to train makes it all too easy to skip sessions or simply go out for an easy run instead of putting in a hard and more productive work-out..
 

While missing the occasional day or doing something lighter and easier have their places in a balanced schedule it is more advantageous to use what little time you have at your disposal for a more strenuous and race specific work-out whenever and wherever possible. This article explains how you can tackle some good sessions in just 30 minutes  -  and how intelligent time management can help you to achieve your training and racing goals. But, before you get on your running gear and hit the roads or trails for some of the sessions, make sure you have a nutritious carbohydrate snack about two hours or so before the session - and that you are well-hydrated, especially in warm or humid weather.
 

Remember, too, to have a quick carbo snack and isotonic drink as soon as possible after your work-out, preferably within 20 minutes after the session. This replenishes depleted glycogen (i.e carbohydrate stored in the muscles and liver) and minerals like potassium, magnesium, sodium and electrolytes which are necessary for the efficient functioning of the human body. Protein, too, is essential to help rebuild micro-scopic muscle tears sustained during exercise. Many top distance athletes pushed for time find chocolate-flavoured milk to be a useful post-training beverage because it is fluidic and contains carbohydrate and protein. But always remember to find something which you personally find palatable.

1: - LACTATE THRESHOLD RUNNING:

This session develops your lactic acid tolerance and enables you to run further and faster without running into oxygen debt and experiencing that heavy-legged feeling which lets you know you have gone off too fast and that your oxygen intake is inadequate for the intensity of your efforts. Lactate threshold is the point where any further increase in pace will bring about significant amounts of lactic acid and hydrogen ions which will cause you to progressively slow down and maybe even force you to stop running altogether.
 

By training once a week at threshold pace you will find that within a month or so you will be able to run the same distances at a faster tempo before lactic acid becomes a limiting factor. The fitter you become the higher the percentage of VO2 Max (maximal oxygen uptake) you will be able to run at before hitting your lactate threshold.  Top class distance runners can reach around 90 per cent of VO2 Max before reaching lactate threshold.
 

An ideal threshold session would be a fastish steady 20 minutes run preceded and followed by 10 minutes of easier running.  As a rule of thumb you should run the 20 minutes' section slower than 5K pace but faster than 10K pace. If you want to be more scientific about your own individual lactate threshold you can visit gymnasia or fitness clubs where you can obtain the required information using sophisticated equipment with the assistance of qualified instructors. They will tell you you the precise pace per mile or kilometre which you should run at to achieve your lactate threshold. But be prepared to pay for the information. As a guide  - and based on well-researched information given to me by top UK coach Frank Horwill  -  lactate threshold pace for runners who run 3K in 9 minutes exactly would be 5 minutes 13 seconds mile pace for around 20 minutes. The figures for athletes whose personal bests for 3K in 8 minutes, 8 minutes 30 seconds, 9 minutes 30 seconds, 10 minutes, 11 minutes and 12 minutes are 4 minutes 33 seconds, 4 minutes 53 seconds, 5 minutes 28 seconds, 5 minutes 52 seconds, 6 minutes 27 seconds and 7 minutes 11 seconds respectively. Obviously, you will need a watch and a course with mile markers if you want to be as precise as this. But, if you're not a stickler for exactitude , just keep to the slower than 5K pace
and faster than 10K pace formula and you'll be close enough.

2: -VO2 RUNNING:

AN athlete's VO2 Max or maximal oxygen uptake quantifies the amount of oxygen which can be processed from the air breathed in from the atmosphere and circulated by the lungs, heart and bloodstream via the pulmonary-cardiovascular-respiratory-circulatory systems to the working muscles. Measured in millilitres of oxygen per kilogram of bodyweight per minute, it is best developed by long, steady runs at sub-maximal pace for several miles, depending on your state of fitness.  Top-class marathon runners will develop V02 Max by running for up to 22 miles and more in single sessions.
 

For club standard athletes five to 12 miles could be the target.  However, VO2 Max can be dramatically improved by training regularly at 3K and 5K paces which is good news for athletes with limited time in which to train. If your target time for 5K is 14 minutes 35 seconds, your average time per 400 metres is 70 seconds. So a good VO2 Max session would be 12 to 15  x 400 metres in 68 to 70 seconds with 30 to 45 seconds recovery. A session using longer repetitions could be 5 x 1200 metres in 3 minutes 30 seconds with with 90 recovery. Both these sessions - and similar work-outs using different distances totalling 5000 to 6000 metres of fast running  -  last less than half-an-hour. Remember to calculate your own training pace, however. Training at 3K pce could make the session even shorter. For example, if your personal best time for 3K is 10 minutes. that's 7.5 x 400 metres in 80 seconds with no recovery. So running 8 x 400 metres in 78 to 80 seconds with 45 to 60 seconds recovery would give you a good VO2 session - as would 3 x 1000 metres in 3 minutes 20 seconds with 2 minutes to 2 minutes 30 seconds recovery. Again, find your own training pace from times achieved or targeted.

3: - PACE INJECTORS:

Physiologically, this session will develop your VO2 Max and lactate threshold. Tactically, it trains your ability to inject faster sections into steady state running and to respond to similar tactics by your opponents. The training programmes of Australian marathon runner Steve Monighetti and Scotland's Allan Adams provide a fine example. Both run for two minutes fast followed by two minutes at  a slower pace twice.
 

The two faster sections are run at 5K or 10K pace while the two slower sections are run at half-marathon pace. Then it's straight into eight  one minute fast/slow sections followed by eight 30 second fast/slow phases following the same principles i.e. the faster phases are at 5K/10K pace with the slower phases at half-marathon pace. The total time of this demanding work-out is precisely 20 minutes. There are lots of variations on this theme which you can include in your own programme. You could, for example, run alternate minutes at 5K/10K pace and half-marathon/full marathon pace for 20 minutes.  Or alternate 90 seconds at 5K/10K and half-marathon/full marathon pace six times. OR two minutes at 5K/10K pace followed by three minutes half-marathon/full marathon pace four times. All these sessions are performed within the context of non-stop running and all last for 20 minutes or less. They are preceded and followed by about five minutes easy running.
 

If you find it difficult at first to run the entire session non-stop you can break it up into blocks until you can complete it without a break eg 2 x (1 minute at 5K pace + 3 minutes at half-marathon pace + 1 minute at 5K pace + 3 minutes at half-marathon pace) with four minutes easy jog/walk between sets. Again, the session lasts exactly 20 minutes. Generally speaking, the race pace for each distance is about four seconds faster or slower for the distances immediately above and below the one at which you are training ie. if your 5K training pace is at 80 seconds for 400 metres your paces for 10K/half-marathon/marathon pace should be 84, 88 and 92 seconds respectively. Again, you don't need to be dogmatic about times or paces. You will get a good work-out by just using your own pace increases/decreases judgment.

4: - HILLS:

Hills can provide ideal training opportunities for the athlete who is pushed for time. A straightforward session is simply running for 15 minutes up and down a hill measuring about 150 to 200 metres long and not too steep. Count the number of complete and incomplete repetitions you achieve - marking the precise point where you finished at the end of the 15 minutes. Repeat the work-out at regular monthly intervals. You'll be amazed at how much you have improved. This session is excellent for general and strength endurance. It will also develop leg strength and mental fortitude. Precede and conclude the work-out with seven or eight minutes easy running. Shorter, faster repetitions over distances like 80 metres uphill will develop power (ie. a combination of strength and speed). Increased power improves stride length, stride rate ( also known as cadence) and acceleration capacity. A  session of 8 x 80 metres fairly fast uphill sprinting with a slow recovery jog back downhill to ensure quality of effort can be completed within your 30 minute deadline. The harder and faster the effort, you more you should work your arms. As well as helping you to run faster, this will also develop upper body strength, especially in the arms, shoulders and pectorals. Again, there are loads of variations.
 

A hill circuit of about 800 metres with uphill, level and downhill sections will provide many benefits. Five repetitions in about three minutes or so with 90 to 120 seconds minutes recovery will get you fit. You could also do a mini-fartlek session round a hill circuit for about 20 minutes. Sessions like 10 x 1 minute fast with 1 minute jog recovery OR 20 x 30 seconds fast with 30 seconds jog recovery are all excellent work-outs which will make you fitter, faster and stronger mentally as well as physically.

5: - OREGON CIRCUIT:

This session gets its name from the University of Oregon in the United States where it was popularised by the late Bill Bowerman, coach to the great American 5000 metres runner Steve Prefontaine. Basically, it involves fast running interspersed with circuit-type activities like press ups, sits up and squat thrusts. There are many ways in which it can be adapted to your own particular situation, especially if you live or work near a public park which increases your range of options. If you have never done this type of work-out previously, you will be amazed at how effective it is. For example, you could perform a sequence of 12 x  60 seconds running repetitions at 5K to 10K pace with each repetition followed immediately by one circuit-type exercise lasting for 30 seconds. Work your way non-stop round the circuit and, when it is completed, your 12 x 1 minute running + 12 x 30 seconds exercise work-out will have given you a total session of 18 minutes. Suitable exercises include press-ups, sit ups, squat thrusts, back lifts, burpees, squat jumps, star jumps, chinnies (left elbow to right knee, right elbow to left knee alternately from a supine position) and vertical tuck jumps (knees to chest from a standing position).
 

If you have access to a local public park, your work-out can include step ups onto benches, bench vaults, bench astride jumps, press ups from benches and triceps press using benches. Climbing frames can be used for under-arm and over-arm pull ups. But, remember, keep within the park by-laws and don't do anything to annoy other park users or get in the way of their activities.
 

Again, the number of options are massive. You can run longer or shorter repetitions at faster or slower paces - or you can use fewer exercises, maybe even just three or four exercises using two or three circuits. Your circuit should include arm/shoulder, abdominal/dorsal and leg exercises for a full body work-out. As well as being challenging, the benefits of this type of session include stronger legs, arms and shoulders which enable you to run strongly and sprint fast at the end of a race. They also develop optimum stride length commensurate with your running pace and cadence, helping your legs to move faster and generating greater force with each foot thrust against the running surface,

6:  -  TIRED SURGES:

The objective of this session is to inject short, fast bursts into steady state running. It trains the athlete's ability to put in quicker bursts at various stages of a race to open up gaps on opponents - or to match similar tactics employed by rivals. This manoeuvre can be very demanding mentally and physically because a five per cent increase in pace requires a 15 per cent increase in energy expenditure. Apart from the tactical benefits, physiologically the work-out elevates the heart rate and improves the ability of the athlete to cope with - and disperse, via the lactate shuttle process - the amount of hydrogen ions and lactic acid in the blood and muscles caused by pace increases during steady tempo runs . The lactic acid is subsequently recycled as a source of energy supplied by the anaerobic pathway. Because of the increase in energy expenditure generated by use of the tired surge tactic, it is usually best left during races to experienced, international and elite athletes aiming to give
themselves strategic advantages over rivals. However, because it utilises anaerobic energy sources, it is a useful
training exercise for everyone. Benefits include enabling athletes to cope better with hills encountered during races or fast finishes. To practice tired surges it is useful to have a wrist watch. The idea is to significantly raise the tempo in your steady state run for 15, 20, 30, 45 and even 60 seconds at increased tempo every fifth, sixth or seventh minutes before dropping back down to your original pace.

It is essential to keep the pace going after the surges otherwise the benefits of the session are not maximised.  Four 20 second surges after every 4 minutes 40 seconds  of a steady state run at between 5K and 10K pace will constitutive a 20 minute training session with time for a five minute warm-up and cool down. Three 60 seconds surges after every six minutes of running at between 5K and 10K pace will take the total time to 21 minutes. Again, there are lots of options which you can integrate into your own programme.

7:  ACCELERATION RUNS:

The objective of this work-out is to develop the capacity to run faster when tired physically and mentally.  Again, there are many variations and much will depend on the athlete's age, ability, experience, event and phase of the training year. If your session is limited to 30 minutes you could run for 10 minutes fairly comfortably, step up the pace for the next 10 minutes then run as hard as you can over the final 10 minutes, This is a three-stage increment but you can do more if you like. For example, you could run 10 minutes at marathon pace + 5 minutes at half-marathon pace + 5 minutes at 10K pace + 5 minutes at 5K pace + 3 minutes at 3K pace + 1 minute at 1500 metres pace + 1 minute as hard as possible. This is a demanding session and not one which you would use too close to a race. Other good sessions include 15 minutes at half-marathon pace + 10 minutes at 10K pace + 5 minutes starting at 5K effort then winding up the pace every minute until you are running close to maximum effort during the final minute.  You could include running for 15 minutes from your training base before turning round and retracing you steps. The idea is to complete the second half of the run faster than the first. This type of work-out can be varied by using a slightly-uphill outward run. It means you will be able to get in some good leg speed work on the downhill inward journey. Use a downhill outward section and you will have to work hard on the homeward uphill section. Again, this is quite strenuous. Ideally, you should run into any headwind on the outward section and with a tailwind at your back in the way home. This reduces the chances of picking up a cold or virus by exposing a warm, tired body to dramatically decreased temperature when you turn back into the wind after working up a sweat with the breeze at your back..

These sessions are just a few of dozens which can be performed in 30 minutes.  All it take is a little imagination, a determination to get things done and an ability to manage your time effectively. So get going now - and don't waste a minute

Derek Parker is a UK Athletics Level 4 Coach. He was Scottish Athletics
Performance Coach of the Year 2006.