Combo/ multipace workouts vs single paced workouts

i think the combo workouts as you have stated are good for base building season. Tempo or CV reps + 4 x200 @ mile pace or 4x30s hills at 3k effort are easy enough to do while building mileage during the offseason.

I prefer more specific workouts in the 10 to 16 weeks building up to goal race. I just don't see hitting speed potential with what I consider to be only maintenance amounts of faster work.

As far as injury risk, I typically feel just as well going either way. Which i think would be the case for most runners as long as they learn how their body responds and run within themselves

The pros of the multipace workouts are being able to fit all of your paces into one week, if you find that important. I prefer focusing each pace individually and spreading out over 2 weeks or so.

high school xc coach wrote:

The pros of the multipace workouts are being able to fit all of your paces into one week, if you find that important. I prefer focusing each pace individually and spreading out over 2 weeks or so.

If I was splitting it up , I would still fit all of the paces one week , I would just be doing 3 sessions instead of 2 . probably on a Tuesday , Thursday , Saturday , Sunday ( easy long run ) schedule?

LateRunnerPhil should be walking through this door any minute now.

SamH wrote:

What is the difference in adaptions of lets say doing 2 combo sessions a week ( Tempo / CV + small amount of 200s) vs splitting it over 3 sessions and doing a CV session, a tempo session and a repetition workout?

Which one has the higher injury risk?

What are the pros and cons of each?

Which one gives the better adaptions?

Just look at the pile of injured runners with this combo workout thing. They can't stay healthy and injury free. Why? This kind of mixing the workuts gives a total too high pressure on the body.The different speeds counteract each other.

Han Solo wrote:

LateRunnerPhil should be walking through this door any minute now.

On limping legs?

Han can you just please make this place better by posting some high quality logs like the good ole days please?

I think they can be done moderately. Like 4x200 at 1600 pace after a tempo is basically like throwing in some strides. Though this may be more difficult for somebody who has a very, very fast 1500/mile time.

10x200 after an already good workout is ridiculous. Maybe to do very occasionally is okay, but not on the regular.

high school xc coach wrote:

I think they can be done moderately. Like 4x200 at 1600 pace after a tempo is basically like throwing in some strides. Though this may be more difficult for somebody who has a very, very fast 1500/mile time.

10x200 after an already good workout is ridiculous. Maybe to do very occasionally is okay, but not on the regular.

If I think about how my seasons go, we kind of alternate back and forth. Early in the summer we mix it up a lot. As we get into the early season prior to meets and the first month of competition, we kind of focus on one stimulus and then late in the season, we kind of mix it up some more.

I generally prefer to mix the paces up. One benefit of putting some race pace work at the end of a threshold session is that if it’s lurking in the kids’ minds, they’re less likely to go crazy on the threshold stuff.

in high school xc there becomes a strong need for mixing things up as you run into something like 3 or 4 races over a 2 week period with duals and invitationals. I still struggle with what is the perfect way to structure workouts during some of those tougher periods.