12x1 mile... does this workout make sense?

typical - I agree with you, but in my experience - in a good but not great Div. 1 program 30 years ago, only the stronger (and more experienced) runners are going to be able to handle a quality 10 X 1 or 12 X 1 workout. Too many college runners overtrain and redline too often. Again, the standing around element really bothered me. The first mile in a decent XC race invariably went out in 4:30/4:35, and the key was to get in a steady state thereafter (which on a tough course was often at 5 minutes a mile). I never saw how this could be done with workouts without lots of meaningful time in motion and with training that focused on dealing with changes in heart rate. Not to be negative about the original poster, but a 12 X 1 workout at 5:20 pace with that much rest in between would not have done anything for me but get me sore.

I agree with this. A better session would be 6x mile or 5x 2k with moderate 400 jogs.

keep it moving wrote:

I agree with this. A better session would be 6x mile or 5x 2k with moderate 400 jogs.

I think that this is a great next logical step.

You start with 7-8xmile with 3min rest as a younger/less developed college guy maybe in August, and do the workout again later in the cycle with 10xmile with 3 min in September (at a similar pace), finish with 5xmile with 400m jog when the real specific race phase gets going in October.

For a guy doing 12xmile who has successfully shown the maturity to move up from the 10xmile workout. You maybe start in August with 8-10xmile with 3 min, hit the 12xmile at a similar pace in September with 3 min rest, and in October you pick the pace up, drop the rest and run 6xmile with 400m jog.

I think you all are forgetting he did this workout in mid-september, 7 weeks from D1 conference weekend and over 2 months from national meets. It could very well be his last 'base' style workout and the next 4-6 weeks are going to be more race specific.

I think this is a great end of the base/non-specific phase workout so long as the runner is mature enough and capable of continuing onwards with their training without a major interruption. If this isn't what that was, then I'm less supportive, but I think it can be used for an 8k/10k runner with great results in the proper segment of training.

This sounds like a reasonable workout to me, and I'm glad the OP had a successful go at it.

As a mediocre D3 runner doing 60-70 mi/week a few years ago, one of the best workouts for me was along the lines of 4-5 X 2000 at 8K race pace, with 2-3 min rest. Actually, I even ran them a bit faster than race pace, which was probably foolish, but I did survive and had a nice progression (for me) that season. We also did 10 mile tempo runs at 20-30 sec below race pace, which I also handled pretty well. And in those weeks, the only other hard workout was just a very hilly run, finishing with 8 X 300 up a steep slope, so the recovery was fine.

So, for a top runner doing 100 mi/week and training intelligently, I can easily see 10 or 12 X mile at a controlled pace.

The main question about this workout seems to be the volume as it pertains to a college runner.

What if we shortened it to 9x 1 mile with 2:00 recovery (instead of 3:00)?

Is this better for an 8k-10k racer?