thgsbrg
Do intervals help the marathon 4/28/2012 10:01AM Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
for marathoners over 2:40, do under two mile intervals really benefit the runner or would it be better to touch strides and longer strength workouts?
MarathonMind
RE: Do intervals help the marathon 4/28/2012 11:11AM - in reply to thgsbrg Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
Absolutely. Emil Zatopek did massive sessions of nothing but 400s and he tripled the distance events in 1952 and won all three. Not a coincidence.
HowAbout
RE: Do intervals help the marathon 4/28/2012 1:10PM - in reply to thgsbrg Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
I'd argue it's not either/or. Much the same way elite powerlifters maintain all elements of strength training training year round (max-effort, speed, repetition work) so can, and probably should runners. Renato mirrors this practice by essentially advising that it is about adding another element to your training, not eliminating. PL'er Donnie Thompson is a great example, he added kettlebell work into his program and they just happened to be that piece that helped him continue his progress. All elements are the keys, but not one element is the key.
Aghast
RE: Do intervals help the marathon 4/28/2012 1:20PM - in reply to HowAbout Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
You can't compare powerlifters to runners. The latter is a real sport which is represented at the highest level in the Olympics and the former is a pseudo-sport.

HowAbout wrote:

I'd argue it's not either/or. Much the same way elite powerlifters maintain all elements of strength training training year round (max-effort, speed, repetition work) so can, and probably should runners. Renato mirrors this practice by essentially advising that it is about adding another element to your training, not eliminating. PL'er Donnie Thompson is a great example, he added kettlebell work into his program and they just happened to be that piece that helped him continue his progress. All elements are the keys, but not one element is the key.
ask pfitz
RE: Do intervals help the marathon 4/28/2012 1:31PM - in reply to thgsbrg Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
see pfitzinger advanced marathoning schedules - emphasis is on endurance and strength ( long run, medium long run, MP runs, tempo, strides ). VO2 max - not so much.

i think maybe there was a low key interval session ( 800s ? ) once every 2-3 weeks - dont remember, but i do know VO2 max w/o's are not highly prioritized in the pfitz program.
PhatTongue
RE: Do intervals help the marathon 4/28/2012 1:40PM - in reply to thgsbrg Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
I think doing a base/fundamental period that is ~10k/half marathon training is a good idea... It'll help during the specific workouts later.

Some things I like:

Speed endurance: 15-30 x 100m at @ ~400m pace

Typical interval and alternation workouts: 6 x (1min @5k, 5min tempo)
middle professor
RE: Do intervals help the marathon 4/28/2012 4:19PM - in reply to ask pfitz Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
ask pfitz wrote:

see pfitzinger advanced marathoning schedules - emphasis is on endurance and strength ( long run, medium long run, MP runs, tempo, strides ). VO2 max - not so much.

i think maybe there was a low key interval session ( 800s ? ) once every 2-3 weeks - dont remember, but i do know VO2 max w/o's are not highly prioritized in the pfitz program.


According to the Pfitz (70/18) schedule posted here, the entire "race prep" mesocycle just before the taper emphasizes 5K intervals. This seems to be a fundamental difference from the (more modern?) Canova/Hudson/Hansen's schedules which emphasis more race-pace workouts in that period.

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=4432&CategoryID=&PageNum=5