A couple more workouts:
6/30: 4xflying 20m w/3 minutes rest, 4x100m w/8 minutes rest.
100m times: 13.2, 13.1, 13.1, 13.0
7/2: 3x300 w/9 minutes rest.
300m times: 42.2, 42.2, 42.4
Aiming for a fast 400 sometime next week.
A couple more workouts:
6/30: 4xflying 20m w/3 minutes rest, 4x100m w/8 minutes rest.
100m times: 13.2, 13.1, 13.1, 13.0
7/2: 3x300 w/9 minutes rest.
300m times: 42.2, 42.2, 42.4
Aiming for a fast 400 sometime next week.
7/5 morning workout, in the rain:
2x200m, 600m, 2x200m:
30.1, 30.3 (2 minutes rest in between)
4 minutes rest
1:29.9
7 minutes rest
28.7, 28.7 (5 minutes rest in between)
Use a five-paces block. 14 day cycle repeated 3-4 time (6-8 weeks)
Day 1: 1500m pace (300m-600m reps) (3k-4k total volume), recovery interval: 2x rep time
Day 2: Recovery pace or Base pace run 30 min
Day 3: Max Sprints (30m-50m reps) (300m-500m total volume), recovery interval: 1 min per 10m of rep
Day 4: Base pace run 30 min
Day 5: Recovery pace run 15 min
Day 6: 400m pace (120m-300m reps) (1200m total volume), recovery interval: 8x rep time
Day 7: Recovery pace run 60 min
Day 8: 800m pace (200m-400m reps) (2k-2400m total volume), recovery interval: 4x rep time
Day 9: Recovery pace or Base pace run 30 min
Day 10: 200m pace (80m-120m reps) (800m-1k total volume), recovery interval: 16x rep time
Day 11: Base pace run 30 min
Day 12: Recovery pace run 15 min
Day 13: 400m pace (120m-300m reps) (1200m total volume), recovery interval: 8x rep time
Day 14: Recovery pace run 60 min
- If you race, that replaces the 400m pace workout.
- For meets sign up for three races: 100m or 200m, 400m, and 800m or 1500m. You want to race below, at, and above the target race distance.
- Progress the rep distances from shorter reps to longer reps as you progress through each 14 day cycle.
coach_rodney wrote:
Use a five-paces block. 14 day cycle repeated 3-4 time (6-8 weeks)
Day 1: 1500m pace (300m-600m reps) (3k-4k total volume), recovery interval: 2x rep time
Day 2: Recovery pace or Base pace run 30 min
Day 3: Max Sprints (30m-50m reps) (300m-500m total volume), recovery interval: 1 min per 10m of rep
Day 4: Base pace run 30 min
Day 5: Recovery pace run 15 min
Day 6: 400m pace (120m-300m reps) (1200m total volume), recovery interval: 8x rep time
Day 7: Recovery pace run 60 min
Day 8: 800m pace (200m-400m reps) (2k-2400m total volume), recovery interval: 4x rep time
Day 9: Recovery pace or Base pace run 30 min
Day 10: 200m pace (80m-120m reps) (800m-1k total volume), recovery interval: 16x rep time
Day 11: Base pace run 30 min
Day 12: Recovery pace run 15 min
Day 13: 400m pace (120m-300m reps) (1200m total volume), recovery interval: 8x rep time
Day 14: Recovery pace run 60 min- If you race, that replaces the 400m pace workout.
- For meets sign up for three races: 100m or 200m, 400m, and 800m or 1500m. You want to race below, at, and above the target race distance.
- Progress the rep distances from shorter reps to longer reps as you progress through each 14 day cycle.
This seems like a reasonable sprint-focused block for a distance runner - especially one looking to maintain fitness for 800 and 1500. How close would this sort of plan come to maximizing pure 400 meter fitness? With no longer races planned for a while, I don't mind sacrificing long-distance fitness to see how fast of a 400 I can run.
I feel like my 800 meter fitness currently is certainly as good as it was before starting this training block - even focusing solely on the 400. Not sure about my 1500. I might still be able to run a halfway decent 1500 but it would probably feel horrible compared to when I am in good 1500 shape.
Workouts this week:
7/8: Planned to run 400/200/200 pretty fast, but not all out. In the 400, I felt a twinge in my hamstring around 300 meters. It didn't feel bad enough to stop, but I eased off and coasted in. Time was 57.3, and it felt relatively easy except for my hamstring. Didn't run any 200s - they probably would have been slow and only hurt my leg more.
Middle of the week I just did some easy strides and drills.
7/12: Ran 8x100m strides, followed by 800m pretty hard. Hamstring feeling much better, but I didn't want to run a 400 meter time trial today. Ran 2:05.6, splitting 62.x/63.x. Was decently happy with that time, and especially happy that my hamstring didn't protest.
I will probably aim for a time trial at the end of the month - too much travel in the next week and a half to count on consistent training.
Done with my travel, and still feeling like I could aim for a time trial in another week. While I was gone, I only ran 4 times (one hill workout and three other runs of various distances). However, I was at various locations between 5000 and 11,000 ft of elevation, so I felt like I worked harder than I may have otherwise.
7/25 workout:
8x100m strides in trainers
(change into spikes)
200, 200, 400 w/equal walk rest (30.0, 30.0, 59.3)
3x100m with fast middle 30m: 14.5, 13.8, 14.0
Hamstring continues to feel a little better, but glad I wasn't trying to run an all out 400 today. Middle sections of the 100s at the end were definitely the fastest I've turned my legs over since straining my hamstring.
Past week has been mostly lighter workouts - felt under the weather this last weekend, and hamstring still bothered me to some degree. On 7/29 I ran a little workout that included 2x400 in 61.6/61.9 (4 minutes rest). I didn't want to strain myself with top end speed, but still wanted to do some work.
8/1 time trial
Hamstring feeling probably as good as it has felt in the last 3 or 4 weeks. Warmed up with 8x100 strides working my way down from 17 to 14.5. Ran 400m time trial in 55.9. Pretty happy with that effort today - although I would like to go a couple seconds faster, I can't complain with that time after the last few weeks of training.
8/4 - 800m time trial
Ran 2:03.25. Split something like 59mid/63high (just glanced at my watch going through 400). Felt reasonably good through 600, but haven't done enough 800/1500 workouts recently to have a strong finish. Nice to average a little faster than 1500m PR pace.