fisky wrote:
3x400m (10 min walk recovery)... the first 2 at 5 seconds faster than goal 800m pace and the last at 2 seconds faster.
What's your differential between 800 and 400 speed?
Most runners with a decent background can run the two 400s in their 800 at an average of 6-8 seconds slower than their 400 PR, so on that basis your 3rd 400 is virtually at 400 PR level.
Your 800 speed isn't fast enough based on your 400 speed.
Purpose wrote:
Doesn't produce much?!
I test my lactate after hard workouts, my lactate is sky high if I do a real hard 8x200m with a couple of minutes rest.
Bad Wigins wrote:
ok, it produces some, but not as much as 600's or an 800 race, and that 2 minutes lets you clear enough that you can get through another 200 without losing form like a 400 hurdler.
Yes it does. Hard 200ms with 60second rest will easily give you 15+ mmol/lactate. To get higher than that is very hard, and to claim you doesn't produce much lactate in 200m intervals is a blatant lie.
I have a similar question as OP, also master runner, but are in a different situation. Did mostly distance-related training and a 3000m time trial in 10:15. I have done a session of 12x200m [beginning in 36, gradually cutting down to 32] with 200m jogging breaks a month ago. There are no races I can participate in except an 800m in 3 weeks.
I would like to do two specific workouts for this race. One 2 weeks out, and one the week before.
Would it make sense to do 3x400m two weeks before with 3-4 min rest, to get some sense of what time to aim for, and then 2x600m one week before? Or only one session with long 800m intervals and another session with shorter intervals, to get a good feel for the pace?
Rather than the 2 x 600m I would do 600m-400m-300m-200m-100m, with each successively faster. Itis less race like and will leave you fresher, yet still a challenge.