Jess Hull discussed her training on a recent podcast with Inside Running.
It's a 10 day cycle year round, but the emphasis during the year changes to create a sort of periodisation. During winter, there is more focus on the longer stuff, during summer, the recoveries in particular of the race pace stuff are shortened to make it more specific.
She is still doing weights, but not as much as she used to. She didn't mention where in the cycle she does them. She never lifts more than 60kg, and does a lot of hamstring, calf and core work.
The 10 day cycle is:
Day 1
Long run, 80 minutes year round, sometimes 90
Day 2
AM – rest
PM – 40 minutes plus plyos and sprints. 80, 60, 40, 120s, with shifting paces
Day 3
3-5k focus session
Eg, 5-6 x 1km. Sometimes reps as long as 1 mile, but mostly around 1km
PM – easy double
Day 4
Easy double
Day 5
"True sprints"
Total of 800 – 1000m of volume with reps of 200 to 300m reps
Very uncomfortable to sprint at this pace.
She probably did this only 10 times from March to the end of season
No more running that day.
Day 6
Threshold – 25-30 minutes of work, sometimes all in one block, sometimes broken into 6-12 minute reps
PM – easy run
Day 7
60 minute jog
Day 8
Pure 1500 session – 600s, 400s, etc always at 1500 pace or faster.
Never slower than 63s for these sessions since April. Volume prioritized until
July, then maintained the volume and reduced the rest.
Example: 10x400 with 2-2:30 rest at 1500 pace last year, coming into top form she could do
it off 60 seconds (62s for the reps)
Day 9
Easy double
Day 10
800 Specific session
Around 4km of work at goal 800 pace. Sets usually around 800-1000m, with big breaks in between.
She said she checks her mileage on a 7 day basis, and will add/scrap doubles if it's getting too high or too low. She usually aims for around 110 – 120km per week