Best six sessions to sharpen up for a 1500

4km [10x(300m moderate run + 100m 95%)]

Thanks, all. Session #1 in the bag:

2 x [6x300], 45 sec between reps, 3 min between sets.

Averaged 52.3 for first set, 51.7 for second. Last rep on each set was a bit faster. That's 69.5 per lap or 4:20 pace. (I did say I was old and slow, right?)

Today was really busy. Made it to the track 30min before they closed, no time for fancy warmups or long recoveries. I played safe and just decided to run at 1500 pace, having done nothing that fast for 3 weeks.

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There's a group at my club, withe some faster guys than me, who just posted this one up for Tuesday night:

1600, 1200, 1000, 800, 600, 400, 200, with 2 laps jog recoveries throughout.

That should leave plenty of scope to tempo the first couple of reps and really hammer the later ones.

I'm going to do cool kid's "acceleration workout" a week on Monday, when I won't be near a track.

Do you mean sharpen up and/or freshen up. 12 x150 just under race pace with a jog recovery should do both.

Good luck with the Acceleration workout.

It makes quick paces feel easy once you get in a race.

1) A great base year after year

2) A great base this year (but sound slike that didnt happen for you)...

mileage, long runs, mileage...gets one strong so that you can do more speed work, more often, and recover quicker. Seems like when you are stronger you recover from everything better, including travel, an illness, a day that you are feeling tired...

3) 4 to 5 x 600m at race pace or just under race pace with 4-6 min rest

great for speed endurance

4) 4 x (4x300 or 400) at just faster than race pace, with 5 min bewteen sets and 45sec rest for set 1, 60 for set 2, 75 for set 3, and 90sec for set 4.... The increased rest makes the work out easier mentally, you will probably get faster each set and start approaching just above 800 race pace near the end, and you end up with several meters at faster than race pace

5) 8x200 with 30-40 sec rest at race pace, 7min rest, 1x600 hard, 7min rest, back to 8x200 at race pace with 30-40 sec rest

6) a blow out 800 race about two weeks after 1500 #1 and about one week before 1500 #2...

7) Numbers 3 and 4 are before the peak phase, a peaking phase workout may include 1k time trial followed by a few 200's or 300's (provided you arn't racing that week or its a workout following a race the prior weekend)...Also 3 x 600 with full recovery, 7plus min rest. These are tough....You can also do a simple workout like 6-10 x 200 or 4 x 400

Thanks, all. Session 2 in the bag. As stated, there was a group doing a session I could adapt, jumping between the slow and fast groups, and it's rare for me to have pacemakers.

Recoveries were all 4 minutes. It should have been 5-6 but my "rabbit" felt guilty taking such long rests so did his two laps at a run, not a jog!

1600 - with slow group - 5:40 (85/lap) - as a warmup

1200 - ditto - 3:59 (80/lap) - warmup

1000 - with fast group - 2:54 (70 pace) - first time I've run a 1000 that fast in almost two years, great fun!

800 - backed off to recover - 2:33 (76)

600 - 1:42 (68 pace)

400 - 65

200 - 29.8

Not sure I could have extended that 1000 to 1500, but it's good for session 2. So it's looking like 70 pace is realistic. Those "descending distance" ones were a staple back in the day.

I'll ponder the menu options you have given me for Friday and Monday's sessions.

Hi all,

Looks like it will be five sessions, not six; last weekend got complicated. So far this week I did...

Monday: Cool Kid's acceleration workout, on a coastal bike path in racing flats. There was a 200m paint mark and I ended in about 29.0, not bad in flats. That's a nice session: it starts deceptively easy, but the last 2-3 took real commitment and left me sore for a couple of days.

Today: warmup with a relaxed 1200 in 3:52 and a few 200s. Then 4 x 400 in 65, 64, 63, 64 with 4-5min rest. Tried to kick the last one, but I was swimming in treacle. Quite a shock to be travelling at those paces.

I'm tempted to go a bit longer on Sunday and do 600-500-400-300-200 x 2 ( 1min between reps, 5 between sets), as I've done that before and I'm just a tad worried about losing some aerobic fitness if I go 10 days without anything longer. The 600 would start at about 3000 page. Thoughts?