Most important track interval workouts for Marathon Training?

Not that I think that it is the more important WORK for marathon training, but I think that of the track interval workouts that long intervals like 5x5k at a touch faster than marathon pace are golden. Remember that you're training to run a heck of a long way in an efficient manner, not to just be able to run really fast.

5 x 5k on the track? Are you crazy? Get out on the roads or grass or trails. There's no need to be on the track at all for marathon training, not if you value your legs.

Foe what it is worth, I do an interval workout once a week but on the road. I do 8x1-mile one week and 4x2-mile the next; 1-min. rest in between reps. The miles are at MP minus 30-35 sec. and the 2-miles are at MP minus 15. sec.

what's wrong with the track? YOu mean the turns? The track is at least softer than the road...I did 18 miles at mp on the track (ala beck). Boring as hell, but easy to get a feel for pace and set up aid stations...

Your race in one the roads. Do you marathon pace stuff on the roads. Tempos too.

Specificity wrote:

Your race in one the roads. Do you marathon pace stuff on the roads. Tempos too.

Agree, thanks for the input everyone. Here are my components, what do you think?

1. Tue = Track workout. Repeats 800 or shorter

2. Thu = Tempo or Fartlek

3. Sat = Long run with some MP work in it

800 or shorter repeats will do absolutely nothing for marathoning. Run some 1000s at 5k pace or miles at 10k pace.

I go with no intervals, just base: tempos, long runs and steady states, should be fine. Maybe some 100 meter sprints to help with speed.

Funny since all the top guys seem to run short repeats. Where does your information come from?

Rob deCastella:8x400 w/200float recovery2:07:51Just think how good he could have been if he trained for the Marathon!

deep thought wrote:

800 or shorter repeats will do absolutely nothing for marathoning. Run some 1000s at 5k pace or miles at 10k pace.

john stewart wrote:

I go with no intervals, just base: tempos, long runs and steady states, should be fine. Maybe some 100 meter sprints to help with speed.

John has it right unless you are running sub 2:10 for a man or sub 2:35 for a woman. In which case, running 60 minutes twice a week at goal pace may be better accomplished with 1k to 5k repeats with short recovery at goal pace.

My $.02

Glenn

In my opinion American marathoners don't do enough steady state workouts.

I think shorter speed work on the track has some merit for a marathoner, however not while in your marathon specific phase. You could be doing that kind of thing 4 months out or so. The final 3 months you want to be doing tempos, Marathon pace runs, and long intervals. These would all be better done on the roads then the track.

The most valuable uptempo running will be done at marathon pace. The next most valuable running will be done at 15k-half marathon pace. The next most valuable running will be done at 5k-10k pace. The 5k pace stuff can be done through 100-150m acclerations, rather than short repeats. I agree that unless a marathoner is planning for 2:15 or better, the short track stuff is quite low on the priority list.

As an aside, I (like many others) read that KK finishes his long runs with a couple very fast miles on the track and thought this was a great idea. I noticed the Hanson's did this too. The only problem, how many of us will really run 5k race pace at the end of a marathon? If we finish a perfect marathon at our 10 mile pace, we will be going much faster than anyone else and if we can run 5k pace at the end of a marathon, we definitely didn't run the first 23 miles fast enough. My point? It really isn't that difficult to finish a 23 mile long run with fast miles, but it is much more beneficial to spend as much time as possible right around marathon pace.

Bump

I think mile repeats are great. I also like to alternate longer and shorter speedworks every two weeeks. For example:

WEEK 1:

Tues - 5x1600m

Thur - 12x800m

weekend - long run (20-23 miles)

WEEK 2:

Tues - 5x1600m

Thur - 2x4 miles

weekend - race and/or easy runs

I dont agree with either of your points.

1/ If speedwork is important to a sub 2'15 runner then it is also important to a sub 3'00 runner and he too should include some so long as other training methods are included.

2/The point of running the latter few miles hard on a long training run is NOT that you can replicate this with a 3mile kick in the race. The increase in pace puts your lactate levels at just under threshold pace (hopefully) thus enabling you to 'stress' the AT level higher. The long run essentially becomes a progressive tempo run. Also, mentally it is preparing you for maintaining race pace with tired legs.

And who the hell said anything about 5k race pace at the end of the long run!!! There is NO WAY Tergat or KK or The Hansons or Mother Theresa are running 5k race pace 'for a few miles' at the end of a long run.

strides at 5k-pace, why should someone do that?

Thats no stimulus for the heart and neither for the muscles..

Classic Intervals for the Marathon are 5k and 10k pace repeats as 20x400 or 8x1k or 6xmile, if i remember correctly Khannouchi does one session of 400s as 20x400m for example and one of 1000s as 12x1000m weekly, thats pretty much the same what Shorter or Meb or Radcliffe or Lopes or Steve Jones or...is/were doing on a weekly basis.

For efficient aerobic training you have/should do some stuff above the treshold to produce good stress on the heart.

Deek and Moneghetti did the 8x400m reps fast 62-63s with brisk recoveries of about 45s for 200m. Thats about 14.20 for 3 miles. The Tuesday night fartlek sessions were also short and very intense.