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3 July, 2020 By RTP Leave a Comment

Coronavirus: Running Training Session 10

open road ahead 800

5k Time Trial

For more details of these sessions see the introduction and Week 1.

This post will round off the Running Training Plan Coronavirus training sessions.

Many people are back to running in small groups, although many are not comfortable to do this quite yet.

Is it safe to run in small groups?

To be honest I’m not sure quite what to think; it’s so very difficult to come to a definitive position on the safety of running in groups.
Of course, there’s a balance to be made. The positive, social aspect of running far outweighs the safety risks for a lot of runners, and this is something for each individual to assess. The risks do seem very low, at least here in the UK, not only of catching Covid-19, but also of being badly affected by it.

For me, at the moment, I am not currently coaching in a group environment and neither am I running within groups.
If I were to arrange group sessions then I feel I am encouraging people to attend; I am not comfortable to do this, not right now anyway.
Some would argue that I should leave it to the individual to decide and that I would not be forcing anyone to do what they are not happy to do. However, there is a bigger picture. It’s not just the potential attendees who are at risk; any additional individual infection is another branch of transmission.

Recently at my club (the first day of return to group running) it was revealed that one person in a group of 6 had tested positive; they were asymptomatic and had no idea that they were carrying the virus.
For some time I’ve also been somewhat concerned about transmission in a group running environment, and unsure if 2 metres is enough distance when following another heavy-breathing, sweating runner; it’s only a half-second gap at 8 min/mile.

Until recently, the science has suggested that the virus is not easily transmitted by airborne droplets. But, a recent study, indicated that the possibility of airborne transmission could be higher than originally thought “Aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 may be a more important exposure transmission pathway than previously considered”. “Collectively, these preliminary data suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is resilient in aerosol form”. It stated that airborne particles can remain infective at 16 hours. Wow. After reading that I was less keen to be following anyone, let alone a panting runner.

What about the effects of Covid-19 on the individual

After infection, most people seem to escape with mild symptoms or even none at all. But, an article on the Forbes website quoting a Dutch study indicated that “some patients in the “mildly symptomatic” category turn out to be substantially burdened by Covid-19 for long periods of time, sometimes months”. This is of particular interest to those of us who value highly an efficient cardiovascular system because aside from the most widely reported persistent fatigue, three-quarters of patients had continued shortness of breath. If you read the article you will see that the numbers are rather concerning.

Like most science, you can pick and choose what to believe in order to substantiate your own view. This is of course true for you, me and the politicians making the rules.

Session 10, the 5k Time Trial

So this one is simple and it’s as tough as you make it. Ensure you have a decent warm-up and incorporate some of the exercise and drills from the previous 9 sessions.

Run your 5k, log it and note down what you did well and what you could improve. Did you have trouble maintaining pace? Conversely, maybe you left too much in the tank. Were you spot-on with your pacing? What about the hills (if there were any), did you stay strong till the top and able to press on over the crest?  

Also, allow yourself some easy running after to cool down properly.

With 9 sessions to refer back to, this 10th session completes a training cycle. Use the sessions to compile your own training plan for your next goal and remember to do most of your running at a relatively low level. That will enable you to work hard during your speed sessions and gain maximum benefit.

Photo by Dion Tavenier on Unsplash

Filed Under: CV sessions, news, training sessions

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