short rest & Hard/Easy wrote:
I would say that short rest are the most important thing !
They prevent the runner from running to fast for his ability and keep the intervalls goal specific.
The consequenc for less fit runners is that the work distance shall be shorter.
So instead of 400m with 30 sec rest
Do 300m with 30 sec rest
There are a lot of ways of doing it, but you're right that the workouts are going to be different for less fit runners. Importantly, "less fit," means less aerobically developed, not necessarily slower PRs. This is important when it comes to training high school and college runners. Less trained runners can often do the exact same workout as a more trained runner, but they're relying heavily on their anaerobic capacity to do it. That's what the Norwegians are trying to avoid.
If I compare myself as a runner in my early 20s to my late 30s, I can do the EXACT same 20x400 workout, but physiologically it's totally different. In my early 20s, the difficult aspect of the workout was the short recovery; after the first few reps, I felt like I couldn't even catch my breath before starting another one. But the speed of each rep didn't feel difficult. Now, it's the opposite. I feel like I really have to push to hold my pace on each rep, but I recover almost instantly.