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Mark Day | Official VDOT Running Coach

@markday_

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Helping runners train smarter, pace better & perform.
VDOT training | Running performance | Race preparation
Online coaching with Race Without Fear ↓

POSTS STORIES REELS

3 × 10 minutes at 10% gradient
10 km/h
90 seconds easy recovery

That gives you 30 minutes of sustained incline running, 5 km total distance and roughly 500 m of vertical gain.

The point of the session is not just to make treadmill running harder.

The gradient increases the aerobic demand and also increases the muscular demand through the calves, soleus, glutes and posterior chain.
The short recovery keeps the work dense, so you start each rep with some fatigue already there rather than fully resetting.

Useful for runners who want to improve their ability to hold effort on climbs, build uphill-specific muscular endurance, or add a different training stimulus without simply running faster on the flat.
If 10% is too much, reduce the gradient or speed. The session only works if you can control the full 30 minutes.

#TreadmillRunning #HillTraining #RunningWorkout #RunningCoach #RunningTraining by @markday_

YOUR EASY RUN PACE BASED ON YOUR 5K TIME

Most runners run their easy days too hard.

Easy running is meant to feel controlled.
You should be able to talk without feeling out of breath.

Using VDOT Easy Pace (E), your easy run pace should sit at roughly 70% effort based on your current 5K fitness.

Approximate easy run paces:

15–17 min 5K
≈ 4:25–5:00/km

20 min 5K
≈ 5:05–5:35/km

25 min 5K
≈ 6:00–6:30/km

30 min 5K
≈ 7:00–7:30/km

35 min 5K
≈ 8:00–8:30/km

For most runners, easy runs will usually last somewhere between 30–60 minutes depending on experience, goals and weekly mileage.

Easy running helps build aerobic fitness, improve recovery and support better performance across harder sessions.

#running #easyrun #5ktraining #vdot #runcoach by @markday_

JUST RUN….

#running #runningtip #runners_of_insta #runningforfun by @markday_

Great HYROX community event hosted at Forders yesterday!

Really good to be involved as part of the coaching team and see so many people rock up and give it their best shot.

Top quality session put together by @ash_fordersgym and a brilliant opportunity to meet so many people from across the HYROX community.

People of all ages and abilities getting together, supporting each other and enjoying fitness and movement.

You don’t need to be an elite athlete to get involved.

Just get involved!

Great support from some brilliant people across the HYROX community, all doing their bit to support the sport and the people involved:
@rilwan_anibaba
@wetherill.para.fit
@r.jamescoaching

#hyrox #hyroxcommunity #fitnessracing #hyroxtraining #forders by @markday_

Top work from the lads in yesterday’s HYROX Men’s Relay!

Fast running all round, elbows flying and some seriously good racing.

Just missed out on the top spot by a few seconds to the super strong Forders lads.

Well done, boys! 💪

Fuelled as always by @xendurance_eu
#hyrox #hyroxrelay #hyroxracing #fitnessracing by @markday_

SHOULD YOU DO STRIDES BEFORE INTERVALS?

Yes. But I prefer to use progressive accelerations as part of the warm-up.

After an easy run, gradually increase your pace over the final kilometre.

Then:

• 5 × 50–60m progressive accelerations
• Start easy and build speed gradually
• Walk back to recover between each effort

The aim is to raise your heart rate, prepare your muscles for faster running and get your legs moving at speed before the intervals begin.

Adjust the number and intensity depending on the session ahead.

#runningtips #intervaltraining #strides #runningcoach #vdot by @markday_

Two runners can have exactly the same VO₂ max and still produce very different race performances.

Why? Because having a big aerobic engine is only part of what makes someone a good endurance runner.

There are three important factors to consider.

**VO₂ max** tells us the maximum rate at which your body can use oxygen during intense exercise.

**Running economy** tells us how much oxygen you need to maintain a particular running speed. Two runners might have identical VO₂ max values, but one uses considerably less oxygen to hold the same pace.

**Fractional utilisation** describes how much of your VO₂ max you can sustain over a given duration. The higher the proportion you can maintain, the more of your aerobic capacity you can put to use.

This is why I don't believe runners should become obsessed with improving one number, particularly the VO₂ max estimate displayed on their watch.

You can improve your running performance without necessarily increasing your VO₂ max. Improvements in running economy and your ability to sustain a higher percentage of your aerobic capacity can make a significant difference.

The figures in this carousel are hypothetical examples, but the underlying physiological principles are well established.

The objective isn't simply to build a bigger engine. It's to become more efficient and better at using the engine you've already got.

Have you ever improved your race times while your VO₂ max stayed the same?

📚 Research references:

Bassett, D. R. & Howley, E. T. (2000). Limiting factors for maximum oxygen uptake and determinants of endurance performance. *Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 32*(1), 70–84.
https://doi.org/10.1097/00005768-200001000-00012

Saunders, P. U. et al. (2004). Factors affecting running economy in trained distance runners. *Sports Medicine, 34*, 465–485.
https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200434070-00005

#RunningPerformance #VO2Max #RunningEconomy #RunningScience #RunningCoach by @markday_

HYROX race week kicks off today!

Looking forward to a season of racing, supporting, spectating, celebrating and being that safety net if ever needed for all the athletes I get to work with every day. Whether that’s HYROX or any other event they’re taking on.

We’ve also got quite a few new athletes racing with us this season, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how they progress over the coming months.

Don’t forget, you don’t need to look around and worry about what everybody else is doing. Focus on you. Be proud of what you’ve achieved and do it for yourself.

Enjoy the racing, enjoy the suffering, enjoy the good, enjoy the bad. Not everything is going to go to plan, but that’s all part of competing.

And remember, every race is just a marker of where you are that day. It’s never a marker of what you’re capable of achieving!

Good luck to you all racing this week. The result is second, the attitude is first. Get amongst it.

Just do what you do.

#HYROX #HYROXTraining #HYROXRaceWeek #FitnessRacing #HYROXCoach by @markday_

8% gradient. Same speed. Three rounds. How well can you hold your pace as the incline changes?

This treadmill workout starts with a demanding uphill effort before progressively reducing the gradient, without changing your running speed.

THE WORKOUT | 3 ROUNDS

First, calculate your BASE PACE.

Take your current Threshold pace and ADD 1 minute per kilometre.

For example:
Threshold pace: 4:30/km
Base Pace: 5:30/km (10.9 km/h)

Now complete:

4 minutes at 8% gradient
4 minutes at 4% gradient
4 minutes at 0% gradient

Keep the same Base Pace throughout all three efforts, moving directly between gradients without stopping.

4 minutes easy walking or jogging between rounds.

That’s 36 minutes of running, with 8 minutes of recovery. 44 minutes in total, excluding your warm-up and cool-down.

WHAT ARE WE TRAINING?

At 8%, the incline substantially increases the cardiovascular demand and places greater muscular demands on your calves, glutes and other muscles involved in uphill running.

At 4%, you’re still working against an incline, but the reduced gradient changes the demand while you maintain the same speed.

At 0%, the uphill demand drops again, allowing you to continue running at your prescribed pace.

Across the three rounds, you’re accumulating sustained running time while managing changing cardiovascular and muscular demands.

The Base Pace calculation is a starting point, not a guarantee that the effort will be appropriate for everyone.

If the 8% sections are too demanding to complete consistently, reduce your speed. The objective is to maintain controlled running throughout the session, not turn the opening four minutes into an all-out effort.

Warm up and cool down separately.

Would you give this one a go?

#treadmillworkout #inclinerunning #runningtraining #runningcoach #vdot by @markday_

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF YOUR WORKOUT?

It's one of the most important questions you can ask yourself as a runner.
Dr. Jack Daniels has built much of his coaching philosophy around understanding why we train the way we do.
Yet how often do runners finish a session feeling disappointed because they didn't run fast enough, push hard enough or finish completely exhausted?
An easy run doesn't become more effective because you push it towards Threshold.
A Threshold session doesn't become better because you turn it into a race.
And faster repetitions don't necessarily produce a better training stimulus if you're sacrificing the recovery needed to maintain their quality.

Every session should have a purpose.

Easy running develops aerobic endurance while keeping training stress manageable.
Threshold work allows you to accumulate controlled time around lactate threshold.
Interval training can develop aerobic power, including VO₂ max.
Repetition training focuses on speed and running economy, with enough recovery to maintain quality.

These training intensities aren't exclusive in the adaptations they produce, but they each have a specific role within a structured programme.
And that's the point.
You don't need to prove how fit you are every time you put your running shoes on.
You need to understand what you're trying to improve and execute the session accordingly.
Sometimes that means running faster. Sometimes it means slowing down. And sometimes it means finishing a workout knowing you could have done more.

**The measure of a successful workout isn't how hard it felt. It's whether it achieved what you set out to do.**

#RunningTraining #RunningScience #VDOT #RunningCoach #RaceWithoutFear by @markday_

Stuck at the same 5K time?

If you’re running regularly but your 5K isn’t improving, adding more random hard sessions isn’t necessarily going to help.

I’d start by introducing one dedicated 5K session into your weekly training.

HERE’S THE WORKOUT

WARM-UP
10–15 minutes easy running.

MAIN SESSION
6 × 800m at your CURRENT 5K pace.

90 seconds easy jogging recovery between repetitions.

COOL-DOWN
10 minutes easy running.

That’s 4.8km of running at your current 5K pace, broken into manageable repetitions.

The objective is to maintain consistent splits across all six efforts, not to run each repetition faster or chase the 5K time you’re hoping to achieve.

BUT DON’T OVERLOOK THE REST OF YOUR WEEK.

I’d suggest running at least three times per week, assuming you’re already comfortable with that training volume.

Alongside this session, include:

RUN 2 | 6KM EASY + STRIDES

6km at a comfortable, conversational effort.

Finish with 6–8 × 80m strides. Accelerate smoothly, run fast but relaxed, then ease off. Walk back between repetitions to recover.

RUN 3 | 8–10KM EASY

Keep the entire run at a comfortable aerobic effort.

Space your runs across the week to allow adequate recovery.

This is a starting point for recreational runners who have plateaued and need more structure.

If you’re already running at a higher level, you’ll likely have an established programme with training volume and sessions tailored to your current performance.

And if you’re not yet comfortable with these distances, the training needs to be adjusted to your current ability.

One workout won’t guarantee a faster 5K, but consistent, structured training gives you something to build on.

What 5K time are you currently trying to beat?

#5ktraining #runningworkout #runningtraining #runningcoach #vdot by @markday_

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with picking up the pace over the final kilometre of your easy run.

Somewhere along the way, we’ve created this idea that an easy run must stay at exactly the same intensity from start to finish, otherwise you’ve somehow ruined the session.

If you’ve run 9km at an easy aerobic effort and gradually increase your pace over the final kilometre, you haven’t suddenly undone the previous 9km of training.

The majority of your run was still easy, and you’ve still accumulated that valuable aerobic training time.

Of course, there’s a difference between finishing a little quicker because you’re feeling good and turning every easy run into a race against your watch.

And I’m certainly not suggesting you need to finish every easy run faster. There’s plenty of value in keeping the whole thing easy, particularly when you’re managing fatigue between harder sessions.

But running doesn’t need to be quite so rigid.

Sometimes you can just enjoy feeling good and let the legs turn over a little quicker.

#easyrunning #runningtraining #runningtips #runningcoach #vdot by @markday_