Work backwards from race day: base, specific strength, sharpening and taper — with the sessions that prove each block is doing its job.
A season plan starts with dates, not sessions. Pick the two or three races that actually matter, then build the blocks backwards from them.
Base work buys you the ability to absorb hard sessions later. The marker session here is a long continuous effort or a set of long reps at threshold, and what you want to see is stability rather than speed.
The specific block introduces race pace. For an 800 m runner that means broken reps at goal pace with generous recovery; for a 5000 m runner, longer reps that accumulate time at target rhythm.
Sharpening is short, fast and low volume. The purpose is not fitness, it is speed of movement and confidence. Sessions get shorter, recoveries get longer.
The taper is where most athletes overthink. Keep the frequency and the intensity, cut the volume. Then trust the log: if your rep consistency has held while paces dropped, you are ready.