Nearly all our sessions start and finish at the Bridgend Tennis, Squash and Bowls Club. The training schedule is posted to our website and also posted to our club Facebook page.  On the rare occasions when the run doesn’t start/ end at the Tennis Club, the location of the session will be clearly explained on both the website and our Facebook page.  There are usually two training sessions per week.  We have an ‘effort’ session on Tuesdays, which alternates between hill repeats and speed sessions (usually on the track, and at no extra cost to you).  Thursday sessions are long (tempo) runs.  The pattern of sessions runs on a 4-5 week cycle, with different sessions run in the winter and summer months.

During the winter all our effort sessions and long run routes take place in areas around Bridgend that are well lit.  It is mandatory that you must wear a reflective, high viz top during winter sessions.   Our summer sessions range slightly further afield, with the Thursday tempo sessions being more varied and longer as light conditions allow.

Efforts (Tuesdays)

Tuesday sessions start at 6:45.  Normally, weekly efforts alternate between hill repeat and speedwork-type sessions.  All sessions are preceded by a short warm up and finish with stretches.  Effort sessions are also a good opportunity to meet other members if you are new, and to build up your endurance if your distance is not yet up to the Thursday runs.

Hill Repeat
These sessions involve hills of varying degrees.
Several laps or circuits are completed per session (usually about 5km total distance).
The intention behind hill efforts is that you increase your speed on the uphill section (approx 10% faster than race pace) and then recover on the downhill section.
There is no rest period on hill efforts, the intervals are broken up by the downhill section.

Speed Session

Speed sessions usually take place on the track, and there is no extra charge to you for the use of this facility.

These sessions consist of several laps of 300m, 400m, 600m, 800m, 900m or 1200m or a mix of these distances and normally take place on either the running track or grass track.
Each lap if followed by a short recovery, normally a half lap walk, to allow you to recover slightly
A guideline speed to aim for is that each lap should be just 10% faster than your race pace.
Please speak to a coach if you’d like to know the exact pace that you should aim to complete your efforts.

Long/ Tempo Run (Thursday)

Thursday sessions start at 6:30.  The distance run ranges from 6.5 miles to 8 miles (10.5 to 15 Km), although a shorter option is available on most of our routes.  These sessions are intended to be tempo runs; a moderate to hard intensity sustained effort that is designed to improve your body’s ability to run faster for longer periods of time.