For many people, middle age is a time to enjoy a slower pace of life. But not for Paul Grange – he’s aiming to speed up.
In 2019, aged 40, elite middle-distance athlete became one of the fastest runners in the world over 800m, running a blistering time of 1.54:47.
It was the best performance by any UK vet-40 – a category for athletes aged 40 to 49 – during the year and rapid enough to leave top runners half his age trailing in his wake.
But this incredible speed and longevity isn’t all talent. The 41-year-old, who ran a personal best of 1:53.46 in his mid-30s, puts a fair amount of hard work into his training.
In a Speed Secrets exclusive, Paul shares a typical off-season’s weekly training schedule. It’s a fantastic insight into what it takes to run fast and hold back the years. Hopefully, it’s inspiration for anyone who thinks their best years are behind them.
With the right training, age is just a number.
Typical Week’s Training: Speed and Endurance
Monday:
Steady jog / rest. My typical Monday starts with a 5 mile run to work. Nothing too fast, more of a steady jog at 7:20 min/mile pace. If I raced over the weekend, or did a particularly hard long run the day before, Monday might otherwise be a complete rest day.
Tuesday:
Morning – steady 5 mile jog commute to work. I’m fortunate enough to be able to use my commute to get some miles into my legs. Nothing too strenuous, but it’s all good volume and helps build the endurance.
Evening – track session. This varies depending on the period in the season, but usually involves some speed-endurance sessions. Today was 12 x 400m with 2 minutes recovery between intervals. Even in winter, it’s good to keep your speed up. You don’t want those intense sessions to be a shock to the system when they really step up nearer the racing season. This helps keep a little bit of sharpness.
Wednesday:
Morning – a couple of miles commute at 7min/mile pace. You can feel the track sessions in your legs the next day, so it’s helpful to get some active recovery. The gentle run to work helps flush the legs out and get things moving again.
Evening – 7 miles jog home. Steady pace, similar to the morning.
Thursday:
Morning – another run to work, roughly 5 miles and 7min/mile pace. By now, I’ve fully recovered from Tuesday’s track session and ready to go again.
Evening – track session. On Thursdays, I tend to focus a little more on speed. Today’s was 15x300m with 2 minutes recovery. While we’re in the off-season, these sorts of sessions are fantastic for developing speed-endurance – the ability to hold an 800m race pace for sustained periods – as well as firing up the fast-twitch muscles.
At the moment, we’re still in a pre-race phase, so we’re training to train. In other words, making sure we’re fit enough to be able to cope with the higher intensities and volumes that will come later in the season. If you become too relaxed in winter, you could find yourself breaking down or getting injured when training steps up ahead of the race season starts.
Friday:
Morning – recovery jog to work, 2 miles. Similar to Wednesday’s run, this is all about active recovery. The older I get, the more I need to make sure I keep the legs moving, otherwise I feel like I seize up. Rest and recovery are important, but that doesn’t mean doing nothing.
Saturday:
Morning – fartlek session on grass or off road. I aim to do around seven hard efforts over mixed terrain – hills and rolling grass trails – followed by eight more intense sprints. By the end of the run, I’ve complete around 7 miles, including the warm up and cool down.
Sunday:
Long run – around 12 miles at 7min/mile pace. The aim of today isn’t blistering pace, it’s conditioning the body to be a runner – become efficient and comfortable on your feet.
In total, that’s 60miles, but a broad mix of volume, steady runs and mixed intervals. I think maintaining variety is important.
Full Profile:
Check out Paul’s full athletic profile on Power of 10.
