Diet & Fitness 

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Training plan: Weeks 5 & 6

Well done, you're nearly there. With just two weeks left until race day Josh Salzmann tells you how to finish in style

If you've been following this programme, you should be quite fit by now. Even if you haven't been working out five times a week, you should notice a difference in your energy levels and your strength.

This week, the focus continues to be on building your stamina and strength. You are getting close to running the full distance, and some of you may have even reached it already.

To keep your workout interesting and to challenge yourself in a new way, try mapping out another route with new terrain and outline a course that has hills. This will force you to work harder and use muscles you previously haven't worked. It might mean you are unable to run the full two and a half miles, but if you are pushing yourself, this is OK - it's the intensity of the workout that counts rather than the distance run.

While following a routine can help you keep to your programme, don't forget to avoid repeating the same exercise every day - you will see improvement a lot more quickly.

Week 5
Monday: Run 2½ miles or 3 miles and walk until 40 minutes are up
Tuesday: Strength training
Wednesday: Cross-training for 40 minutes
Thursday: Rest day
Friday: Repeat Monday's workout
Saturday: Strength training
Sunday: Rest day

As you get closer to the distance you are trying to achieve, focus on fine-tuning everything. In terms of your diet, this means drinking more water, eating fewer foods that will weigh you down, like carbohydrates, sugar and fat. This doesn't mean you can't eat any of these things, but just don't overdo them and be sure eat lots of fruit and veg.

As for fine-tuning your body, work on your flexibility by doing a deep stretching class. If you can't find a class, try to do a stretch workout at home. Be sure to hold your stretches for two minutes or more since this is the best way to effectively stretch out the muscles.

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