These are some common types of runs you’ll come across in training plans.
Recovery: A short, easy run, often scheduled after a harder session. The point is to keep the effort easy.
Base: An easy run that helps build aerobic endurance over time.
Long: A run that’s longer than your usual outings, often done at an easy effort. How long and how often depends on your training and experience.
Hill repeats: Repeated efforts uphill, with recovery between them. The gradient, duration and effort can vary.
Progression: Start easy and gradually pick up the pace during the run.
Fartlek: Swedish for speed play. A run that mixes faster efforts with easier running, often less rigidly structured than an interval session.
Tempo: A sustained, controlled effort. I’ve written a little more about tempo runs.
Interval: Repeated harder efforts separated by easier running, walking or rest. The length of both the effort and the recovery depends on the workout.
These are different ways of organising a run, rather than a checklist to fit into every week. Training plans such as the B.A.A.’s 5K plans show how easy running, longer runs and rest can fit together.