5 x 1k

Firstly, I'd say 2 mins is too much rest.

This is a general question.

Is 5 x 1km one of the better workouts?

In base, you do it at 3-5k speed, with a short recevoery of maybe a minute.

Then as you move into track season, you do it at more mile/2k speed, but with 2-3 mins rest. Maybe only 4 of them for the faster ones.

Agreed?

So averaging 3:10 per 1000 with 2:00 recoveries? If that km was accurate, I think you are ready to tear 16:38 a new hole. I see 16:20 or better for you in a quality race.

I swear I'm not drunk. 3:18 per 1000 if I did it right this time. Still see you in the sub-16:30 range for a true 5K.

Karma Police, your recommended rest periods seem too short to me.

SlowFatMaster wrote:

Karma Police, your recommended rest periods seem too short to me.

The base period one is a Seb Coe type session. I think he did 7 x 800s, at about 5km pace, but with 1 min rest.

You should be able to run for 1km at your 5km pace, and in a minute's time do it again, a few times. If you can't, then it isn't really your 5km pace.

No way!! so if you are a 4 min miler you would go 5/8 the distance x 5 in 2:30 with 2-3 min rest...good luck!!!

Rbyrne wrote:

No way!! so if you are a 4 min miler you would go 5/8 the distance x 5 in 2:30 with 2-3 min rest...good luck!!!

I qualified it to 4 of them at 2km speed.

And yes, you should be able to do that. I never said it was easy. 2km speed gives you maybe a second per lap over your mile speed, if you're doing it on the track. So your 4 minute miler would be going 2.33 for the 1km reps. Or going 2:00 for 800 reps.

One_More_Round wrote:

My PB for 5k is 16.38 from 6 months ago. Been running around 60-75 miles over winter. Ran 17 miles on Sunday and 9 miles lastnight (Monday). Did 5 x 1k with 2 mins rec on the road tonight (Tuesday), by myself, in 16.30 overall time. Legs a little heavy. How close do you think I am to PB shape?

Based on my own experience a few years ago, I'd say you're likely very close to PR shape, if not there.

It really all depends on how hard of an effort the workout was.

In the week or two leading up to two 5Ks where I ran 16:32, then 16:15 I did the following:

4x1200, averaged 3:59, with 400m jogs in about 3:00.

3x1 mile, average 5:20, with 3:00 jogs.

Personally, when I do 5x1k with 200m jog (about 1:40 jog), I end up slightly faster than 5k pace. Maybe 2-3 seconds faster for the 1000m.

No way do I ever expect to do them with as short of recovery as Karma Police recommends. Or as fast. I try not to kill myself in workouts. Anywhere 3k-5k effort/pace is the goal... for 3 minutes to 5 minutes in duration, and recovery of about 2/3rds the duration of the fast segment usually works well.

I'm not a workout hero, and rarely have a poor race. I think that's because I keep the workouts challenging but reasonable, and don't leave my races in the workout.

Your workout sounds good. Like I said, you're close if not there. I'd guess between 16:15-16:40.

What times did you do for the same workout when you ran your pr?

Karma Police wrote:

The base period one is a Seb Coe type session. I think he did 7 x 800s, at about 5km pace, but with 1 min rest.

You should be able to run for 1km at your 5km pace, and in a minute's time do it again, a few times. If you can't, then it isn't really your 5km pace.

That's fairly ridiculous. 5x1k with 1min rest would be a workout you could ONLY do in top condition, meaning that your goal race is within the next two weeks.

Trying to do that in a base period, where you're probably doing more running than either you're used to or you've ever done before, is NOT the time to do that.

If you're adamant about short rest doing those at 15k pace would be far more feasible.

5x1k at 5k pace is crazy with that rest for this point of training.

what type of workout should i do two days from an important 5k xc race? have pb of 17:50, run about 40-50 mpw

4x1k @mile pace w/2min rest is not possible. It probably is barely possible to run 2x1k @mile pace w/5min rest. Of course I'm looking at this from a 1500 specialist's perspective, but I can't imagine churning 4x1000 @2:38 (1500 PR is 3:57). I think even 2x2:38 would be a career session for me.

I did a 5 x 1k workout a couple of weeks before my PB last year averaging 3.18 a rep, but that was with 2.30 min rec. I have never been a great interval runner. I tend to beat training partners in races that run quicker than me over intervals, who just can recover better. I prefer the constant flow of a race. So I'm never going to look impressive with a minute rec! But hopefully it sounds like I'm near PB shape. Aiming for sub 16.15 this year.

Go and tell Peter Coe this. It worked for Seb.

I just don't follow your logic though. Anyone can run 5km at 5km speed. So doing with a one minute rest after every km makes it a LOT easier. It's not goal 5km speed, it's date pace. But even at goal pace, once you get to decent shape, breaking it up with the rests means you can do the session before you're ready to run that goal speed for a straight 5km. That 1 min rest should be heaps at that speed, esp when you're then only running for 3 mins or a bit more. You should be able to do a lot of recovery in one minute and if you can't, you're not fit enough.

Having said that it was used as a base workout for an 800/1500 runner who rarely competes over 5km. Not as a specific 5km session.

Ahhhh, I didn't realize the OP was Seb Coe. Thanks so much for clearing that up. What you've said has now become super relevant and practical.

But for anyone that isn't the OP/Seb Coe, what you said is ridiculous.

So thanks for an example of that, too.

h2o2 wrote:

Ahhhh, I didn't realize the OP was Seb Coe. Thanks so much for clearing that up. What you've said has now become super relevant and practical.

But for anyone that isn't the OP/Seb Coe, what you said is ridiculous.

So thanks for an example of that, too.

Laughing at some of the responses here.

These are the same sort of reactions some people had in the "3xMile at 5k pace" thread when I gave some workout recommendations

5x1k at 5k race pace with one minute rest is not a crazy impossible workout. I'd do it with about 70 or 75 seconds rest but I'd do 6 of them.

karma police is right on the money

You should be able to do that repeat FIVE TIMES IN A ROW with ZERO rest. Doing it with 1 minute rest gives you four entire minutes of rest during the workout. If you struggle with the workout then you're not doing it at your 5k race pace. It is date pace not goal pace.

Once you are more fit you would bump up to 6-8 reps or move onto longer repeats like 1200m, 1600m, 2000m

It doesn't matter if the OP is seb coe or someone else. It is a manageable session if you do it at your 5k date pace.

Coe's books have given enough fodder for armchair coaching trolls to last into the 22nd century. Peter Coe was as deceitful as Seb was talented.

I'm miffed as to why people think that 5x1k w/1 minute rest is such an insane workout. As people have said, how do you expect to run 5x1k w/0 minutes rest if you can't hold that pace with a break in between?

Because some of us actually train, coach and compete these events. Why not just compete the 5K every single week (5 x 1K, 0 rest)? Oh yeah, also make sure you get in all your mileage, tempos, hills, speed work, ancillary training, and so forth! You only get strong in the recovery phase. If 5x 1K is too "easy" with 2 min. recovery, add a few reps for 7x1K. The effort should be taxing not exhausting. If it turns out that 5 x 1K is too hard with only 1 minute (good chance of that), you will either have to do fewer reps (not as good a session), or you will overtrain in the context of overall training load. Empirical and field tested by athletes for decades. Note that PED use will affect recovery substantially, so factor that in if you are already running at the sub 3:30/13:00 level.Don't be a workout hero and a racing zero.

SlipperyPete1340 wrote:

I'm miffed as to why people think that 5x1k w/1 minute rest is such an insane workout. As people have said, how do you expect to run 5x1k w/0 minutes rest if you can't hold that pace with a break in between?