Master 1500/Mile training

I had a similar question (how to get back into speedwork/track training after years of road running) and got this answer if it helps any:

Distance track events are 90-95 percent aerobic. You should be able to run fast off of high mileage(I.E. Edward Cheserek runs 3:49 indoor off 120 mile weeks) and mainly aerobic interval sessions. The way you can rebuild your turnover is start with light 80-100 stride sessions 2-3 times a week following 45-70 minutes of aerobic running. Doing drills such as A-skips, B-skips, quick high knees, and butt kickers may assist in recruiting fast twitch muscles and wake up the muscles that are used when going at a quicker rate. During preseason track (about 4 months out from your peak race) while you are doing aerobic work such as tempo effort type of work outs, you may include some short 30 second hill sprints that will teach your body to maintain form and recruit fast muscle fibers.

The main bulk of your workouts all season should remain 800m reps-Mile reps to build strength. About midseason (2-3 months out from your peak race) you can start incorporating 200 meter build up strides (about 4-6) after a 45-70 minute aerobic run. You can progress 10k-5k-3k-1500-800 on those 200's. Focus on form and turnover. You only need about 6-8 weeks of race pace workouts that will get you as ready as you possibly could for your scheduled peak season. You only really need to "sharpen" up with a few work outs in your "peak phase" during those 6-8 weeks, you can start incorporating workouts like 10x300m at 1500 pace with 30-45 seconds rest, 3-4 x 600 @ 1500m pace with 2-2:30 rest, 8-12 x 400 with equal rest(whatever you split for the 400 is your rest), or break down type of workouts.

Keep long runs 14-18 to develop aerobic base (not abnormal for track athletes to even hit 20 milers). Hope this gives some direction.

danimal330. I am 38 years old and have been a competitive runner for years now. When I was 32, I ran my mile PR of 4:48. I ran a 4:45 this year, but with a completely different approach then when I was 32. I found I can't do 200 meter repeats anymore or I start feeling it in my hamstrings. So I make up for the lack of speed work with light 20 second strides and treadmill running. I find that my turnover is much faster on a treadmill. I also increased my mpw from the high 30s to mid 50s and feel a lot stronger. I ran the 4:48 off a positive split. But I was able to ran even splits when I ran my 4:45 because I felt stronger. Hope this helps.

I'm 43 and did exactly what you are thinking about doing at age 40. I spent a year just getting in shape, then I hurt my calf, and then another year building up. Last year at age 42, I ran a 5:00 mile in a D3 college indoor meet. I am running a 3000 in a few weeks and am trying to go sub 10.

I can tell you it is a blast to be racing again. Things are much different than they were 20 years ago training wise. I discovered I need to warm up longer and take more days off and spread my hard days out more than in my youth. I am on a 10-12 day cycle basically. Long run, 2-3 easy/off days, tempo run, 2-3 easy/off days, track workout, 2-3 easy/off days. I also discovered that I need to buy bigger shorts, leave my shirt on in public, and get beefier shoes. Getting old sucks.

As for races, I decided to pick early season D3 open races. I race indoor in December and then a few outdoor meets in April. There are a few masters races in the summer, but honestly, they suck. Basically a solo TT. D3 meets have plenty of guys that are mediocre that I can still beat. My goal at this point is to not get lapped and not finish last. I have managed to do that so far.

"Distance track events are 90-95 percent aerobic." Which specific distance track events are you claiming to be 90-95% aerobic?

"Keep long runs 14-18 to develop aerobic base (not abnormal for track athletes to even hit 20 milers)." Does that sound appropriate for the O.P. who said his mileage is 20-30?

Thanks everyone. I am going to up my mileage, but realistically I'm not in a place to do high mileage. I just want to enjoy running. Looking for a plan around 40mpw with lots ofrecovery.

I am a 30 mpw 5 days guy. I ran a 5:00 mile last year and am going for sub 10 min 3k soon. My longest run is 8-9 miles. I only do 4 workouts: easy run of 4-6 miles, tempo runs, long runs, and track session. I rotate the three hard days around a 10-12 day cycle which gives me 2 days off per week.

I ran a 4:09 mile off roughly 50MPW

This is what a typical week would look like

M 40 easy

T Workout

W 60 Easy

T 60 Easy or tempo run

F 30 easy or off

S Workout

S long run 70-90

The workouts at the start of the year were more 5k focused, lots of tempo and long track intervals, speed was maintained with hill work and some 200s at 1500 pace at the end of some workouts.

In the sharpening phase there was a lot more specific track work, check Joe Rubios 1500 guide for some ideas on specific workouts.

My track days are some form of 4s and 8s at target mile race pace with twice the rest as the run (2:1). So I might do 3x800 one week, then 2x(8,4,4) the next, then 8-10x400 the third week. All at 75 sec per lap or 2:30 per 800. I'll spend maybe 8-10 weeks doing this before my race(s). Pretty standard stuff, I think.

For Masters atheltes, I'd encourage staying away from speed for as long as possible until about 2-3 weeks out from your base phase. You do not want to risk the chance of injury. As the body surpasses its peak state, it becomes a lot more difficult to recover from injury. At this time, you may have to approach the 1500/mile from a different angle. Rather than going out conservative and looking for a big kick, you may have to go out and attack the race head on. Not meaning to blast the first 300 and hope for the best, but meaning if your goal mile pace is 4:40, you may want to attack it at a 68-70 first lap. Most milers rely on closing a lot harder than their race pace, thus allowing a margin for error in early pacing. Running a strength based 1500/mile will consist of confidence and hanging on to a hot pace.

I'd recommend starting with (4 Months out from peak phase) work outs such as 3-6 mile x repeats at tempo pace with seconds rest, 6-12 x 800m at tempo pace with 60 seconds rest, and faster paced 4-6 mile runs at about 80% of your 5k pace. What the 80% runs do is allow your body to increase the size of mitochondria and increase your aerobic base without straining the body for the rest of your weekly mileage. Once you get a bit stronger and you've reached your peak mileage, you are welcome to continue these efforts and add in about 6-10 x 200-300 meter hill reps at 3k effort. This will allow some strength, form work, and stamina when in an uncomfortable situation. After easy aerobic runs, feel free to add light strides and drills that will keep the muscles comfortable and relaxed at quicker efforts.

About 2-3 months out from your peak race, you can incorporate efforts at Critical Velocity pace which will allow you to hit a quicker pace, maximize fitness, and continue at that intensity without ever really going to the well. You want to save going to the well for your racing efforts all track season. CV pace workouts include 20 x 300 at CV (can be broken into sets such as 5 x (4 x 300)). You can even have fun by throwing in your last 300 of each set at 5k-10k pace just to let the legs loose a little bit, and avoid monotony. 2-6 mile runs at marathon pace or 2-4 mile tempo runs are also a good way to build a strong base during this phase of the season.

1-2 months out, you can start increasing the distance in your CV work by going 6-10 x 1k at CV pace with about 1:30 - 2min rest and even up to 2-5 x 2k 2 min-2:30 rest. You will gain most of your speed fitness by actually racing. This is commonly referred to as "Racing into shape". The more you race the 1500/mile, the better you become at it as you are used to the intensity, developed your strategy, and are comfortable with feeling the pain.

The last 1-3 weeks is when you can start doing 1500/mile race pace workouts to ensure that your body is ready to run a peaked 1500/mile at the right time. You may want to line up about 2-3 1500/mile races during this phase because the event is unpredictable and may not go as planned every single time as it is such a short distance. Workouts may include 4x400 @ 1500 pace, 5 minutes rest 4x400 @ 1500m pace, with equal rest in between each rep. Additional workouts may include 800 @ 3k pace 3 minutes, 600 @ 1500m pace, 2 minutes, 400 @ 1500m pace, 1 minute, 200 @ 800m pace. This will cover all speeds and "Feelings" during the 1500 as the paces and feel of the vary throughout the short life of the race.

Long runs remain about 20-25% of your weekly mileage throughout the season.

Ideal week plan:

Monday: 6 miles easy + Light Strides

Tuesday: Longer slower paced Work out #1 (approx. 8 Miles)

Wednesday: 6 miles easy recovery

Thursday: 4 Miles of easy jogging

Friday: Faster paced workout # 2 (approx. 8 miles)

Saturday: Long Run 8-10 miles at an easy-moderate effort

Sunday: Off

Hope this helps and makes some sense.

What is Critical Velocity pace?

Training for a 1500 do you guys recommend workouts at interval pace?

Critical Velocity pace is approximately 2 seconds slower than 10k pace and 2 seconds faster than tempo pace per 400m

I.E. if you run 5 minute pace for a tempo, that is 75 second quarter, so your CV pace would be approximately 73 seconds per quarter, so 4:52 pace)

Athletes can do 1500m race pace workouts depending on level of fitness. Bulk of pace work should be focused in last 4-6 weeks of season.

Str8Facts wrote:

Athletes can do 1500m race pace workouts depending on level of fitness. Bulk of pace work should be focused in last 4-6 weeks of season.

I disagree, if you are able to race at least once/week (which is optimal to PR) .

Race-pace work should begin about 10 weeks out from your goal race and stop about 3-4 weeks out.

Doing heavy race-paced work on top of racing risks injury, early peaking and burnout. It is major mistake for high school coaches. If you are not able to race at least once weekly, then yes do a session @race pace.

If you ARE able to race often, then in-season training should be at faster than racing pace (speed) or slower (tempo, some 5K pace). Long run should be reduced and race-paced work only enough to keep in touch with it.

1500m wrote:

Str8Facts wrote:

Athletes can do 1500m race pace workouts depending on level of fitness. Bulk of pace work should be focused in last 4-6 weeks of season.

I disagree, if you are able to race at least once/week (which is optimal to PR) .

Race-pace work should begin about 10 weeks out from your goal race and stop about 3-4 weeks out.

Doing heavy race-paced work on top of racing risks injury, early peaking and burnout. It is major mistake for high school coaches. If you are not able to race at least once weekly, then yes do a session @race pace.

If you ARE able to race often, then in-season training should be at faster than racing pace (speed) or slower (tempo, some 5K pace). Long run should be reduced and race-paced work only enough to keep in touch with it.

This is how athletes burn out before the championships. Too many interval sessions at pace on top of races for too long, thus creating an early peak. You reach your peak mid season and by the time you reach your target race, you've blown your wad with heroic workouts 10 weeks out.

Also, this program is intended for a masters athlete running 30-40 miles a week. A long season of pace work for the 1500 leads to muscle fatigue. Muscle fatigue leads to injury.