I remember seeing an article describing the training of a world class 800m runner and it involved a progression of 600's.....6x600, then 10 days later 5x600, etc. The paces got faster and the rest interval increases. The last workout, 2x600, was done 7-10 days out from a major championship. Can anyone help me relocate this article or point me in the right direction?
It was Renato Canova and I think it's in the big, locked thread.
´m again in St.Moritz, reading Letsrun from the internet of Hotel Laudinella. I apologyze if sometime I am not to much precise, but I write at 2 by night, without reading again what I wrote. I went to read again what I wrote, and I found my mistake : I wrote faster, when I had to write slower. For example, in the case of Gebre (12:39),the time per km is 2:32 (15.2 every 100m), and 98% is 15.5 per 100m (2:35 per km is 7:45 for 3 km).
But you must not think of the type of workout (that is clearly over the Threshold, and can reach 11 - 13 mmol for a top runner well trained), but of the EFFECT of this training. The question was : what type of training do you use for improving AnT ? The answer is : a lot of run that we can check between 95 and 105 % of the speed of the race.
I want to describe, for example, one type of training that Gianni Ghidini (the current coach of Bungei, Yiampoy and Kamal) and me use with these guys during the last period, having the goal to IMPROVE SPECIFIC ENDURANCE, developing intensity from the Threshold to Specific Endurance.
1) 6 x 600m (rec. 4 min) in 1:28 (60/28) 1:28 (60/28) 1:27 (60/27) 1:27 (60/27) 1:26 (60/26) 1:26 (60/26)
2) (about 10 days later) 5 x 600 (rec. 5 min) in 1:26 (60/26) 1:25 (59/26) 1:25 (59/26) 1:24 (59/25) 1:24 (59/25)
3) (about 10 days later) 4 x 600 (rec. 6 min) in 1:23 (57/26) 1:22 (57/25) 1:21 (57/24) 1:20 (56/24)
4) (about 10 days later, in the case of Bungei 8 days before Zurich) 3 x 600 (rec. 8 min) in 1:19.3 (54.2/25.1) 1:19.5 (54.6/24.9) 1:17.2 (53.0/24.2)
The next workout (before OG) will be 2 x 600 (rec. 10 min) in 1:16 (52/24).
This type of work starts about 2 months before the main event, having the goal of supporting AnT. After the first two sessions, when we test the speed at a level of lactate of 6 mmol, we can find an improvement of about 5-8 sec, per km. After the first two sessions, the focus of this training is the improvement of SPECIFIC ENDURANCE, joined with the capacity of increasing speed in the final of the race. The 5th workout is very specific,lactate reaches a level of 16-18 mmol, but in any case is an evolution of the first workout.
The normal use of groups of short distances increasing the speed every test, is a good way for increasing the AnT in aspecialist of 800 or 1500m. For example, 4 groups of 3 x 300m in 42/40/38 with 2 min recovery (and 5 min between the sets), or 4 groups of 3 x 600min 1:33/1:30/1:27 rec. 2 min and 5min, for specialists of 800 and 1500/3000m respectively, are workouts very good for increasing the AnT.
But what is important to remember, is that every distance needs a specific Aerobic Support, that is not the real AnT. For example, in the case of 3000 SC/5000, we can create a MAX LASS (Maximum Lactate Steady State) of 6/8 min at a level of 11-13 mmol of lactate, and the AnT that we need is the speed at a level of 8 mmol about. So, don`t pay attention at the CONVENTIONAL THRESHOLD of 4 mmol,because is something for physiologists, but really in many case doesn´t mean anything.
I try to write the level of lactate that you must use like AEROBIC SUPPORT for the specific workouts in different events :
800m 8-12 mmol
1500m 7-10
5000m 6-8
10000m 5-7
HM 4-5
Mar 4
Is this what you were looking for? It is indeed on the big locked thread, towards the bottom of page 2.