I'm trying to run 5 flat for the 1600m and I want to do 400m repeats in 75 sec each, so I'm running them at all out mile pace. How long should the rest be between each repeat? I tried to do this a week ago with 60 sec rest in between and was only able to complete 4 out of the 10 that I wanted to do. Should the rest be more like 2 min?
I had varying 60-90 seconds between reps for this workout before the first time i broke 5. I averaged 73.00 for 8 reps and a week later ran 4:53
First of all, you don't need to run 10 400s on pace with 60 sec rest to be able to run a mile at that pace. You only need 6 or 8, unless you are going to take 2 minutes like Bannister did. Trying to do 10 will make you think you're slower than you are (12-15 for 3000).
There are two strategies that have worked for people:
(1) Run 6-8 X 400 at your date pace with 60 sec rest. Gradually go faster as you can handle the faster pace. It's not always so easy to find what your date pace capability really is.
(2) Run 8X400 at goal pace with 2 minutes. Once you can run them all with relaxed rest, progressively cut the rest shorter until you can run them on pace with 60 second rest. Once you can run them all with relaxed rest, you can look at your schedule to see how quickly you need to cut the time short. You want to get to running at goal pace at least 2 weeks before the big day.