I was wondering what kind of rest times is best for 400, 800 and 1600 repeats? I've read 60 sec rest for every lap (so 400 60 sec, 800 2 min and 1600 4 min). However I also read that your rest between repeats should be equal to run time (so if it takes 75 sec for a 400 then rest 75 sec or if it takes 5:15 for the 1600 then rest 5:15).
Curious what most of you do since I have conflicting info.
Thanks
Totally depends on what you are trying to accomplish, and what intensities you are running. (And where you are in your training cycle progression).
As a general rule, I tend to do the following:
Tempo/Threshold paces: work to rest ratio of about 5 or 6:1. Example, 1 mile repeats at "threshold" (15k race pace) with short, 1 minute recoveries.
10k pace: about 2-3 minutes works pretty well for repeats of 1-2 miles.
Interval paces (3k-5k race pace): work-to-rest ratio from 1:1 to 2:1. Early in the season I may start closer to 1:1, (say 1000m repeats in 3:00 with 2-3 minutes recover jog) and then progress to a 2:1 (say miles with 2:30 recoveries).
Speed/Repetitions (mile race pace): as much recovery as necessary; often jog equal distance (400m fast w/ 400m jog), but will take up to as much as 4x the time of the fast portion if necessary to recover and do the next one well.
Most of these rules of thumb came from Daniels Running Formula, which is a good reference if you're trying to learn some fundamentals about training.