lexel wrote:
CoachB wrote:
We run paces that are loosely based on 80-85% vVO2 max, as determined by a 6 minute maximal run for distance. I group the kids according to ability levels and then tell them the goal is to get the group to the finish line, fast, but together. At the beginning of the summer, we start with 20 minutes @ 80%, or close to it. We gradually extend that out to 30 minutes. Since we've gotten to 30, the progression comes from running faster. Over the past 6 weeks, my top 2 guys have gone from 6:11 pace, to 6:07 to 6:03. The efforts are probably what people are calling "sub Threshold" these days. I expect that these guys could race 5k currently at 5:15-5:20 pace, under similar conditions as the tempo (cool, on the roads)
Ok, very well. I see you know what are you doing.
One critique I have is, that some runners improve faster in speed than in endurance, and vice versa. Based on their muscle fiber distribution.
So there are athletes, which are able to increase their running pace quicker over 20 minutes of duration and have problems with longer intervals, like 30 minutes. For that kind of athletes the ‘speed’ approach is better. So this training method does not distinguish between different athletes muscle fiber distribution.
Your approach assumes the athletes are all more on the slow twitch side (-> increase interval duration first and then start to increase the pace) but the opposite way is also possible (increase pace for 20 minutes and then start increase interval time to 30 minutes).
Fair point.
Until the last 2 years, my tempo stuff has all been broken down into CV or threshold type intervals. For much of the year, it's simply too hot to do continuous tempo runs or long runs in the afternoon. I feel that this has always been a big fat hole in our program. It's only the last 2-3 years where the kids have bought into the concept of showing up to run workouts on Saturday morning.
We do this stuff once a week, tops. This is only the 3rd 30 min tempo we've done since the start of our summer build up (we had a 20, a 24, and a 28 min tempo previously). We've also done 2 -70 minute runs at what Lydiard would have called "highest steady state".
We've been running some sort of max, or near max, speed efforts once a week since the start of summer. We run relaxed 200s at MRP with full recovery 1-2 times per week (usually 4-6. Once after a tempo run and once as a pre meet deal to shake the legs out a bit). We've run 12 x 400 @ 3200 pace 3 times since the start of the summer and we've done CV intervals at 90% on the pace charts probably 3-4 times since the start of summer. I'm trying to touch all of the bases at least once every 3 weeks. The thing that we've cut out the most, is the CV work that had been the backbone of our threshold development type stuff. I'll probably try to bring it back in a little bit as we move deeper into the season.