New to interval speed training, done a lot of Tempo runs, fartleks, and strides on my easy runs. How long does it normally take for a newb like myself to notice results and/or just in general to notice interval training results? more or less 4wks? Thanks!
Almost immediately.
Hard interval training will work well for you if you have an excellent aerobic base.
Most people do too much Hard Interval Training, which is 10 x 200 and above.
Most of the year one should be strengthening the aerobic system and pairing it with at least one day per week of sprints/hills of 80 meters or less. See Ryan Hall, 2:04 marathoner for that one. ALL distance runners need to pay attention to that principle because, "You can be as strong as an ox, but if you cannot make the wheels spin fast, you are in trouble." Ryan Hall
Hall also ran a 13:16 5K.
Jed Clampett wrote:
Hard interval training will work well for you if you have an excellent aerobic base.
Most people do too much Hard Interval Training, which is 10 x 200 and above.
Most of the year one should be strengthening the aerobic system and pairing it with at least one day per week of sprints/hills of 80 meters or less. See Ryan Hall, 2:04 marathoner for that one. ALL distance runners need to pay attention to that principle because, "You can be as strong as an ox, but if you cannot make the wheels spin fast, you are in trouble." Ryan Hall
Hall also ran a 13:16 5K.
Thanks for the responses. I went out and did interval training with my running group for the first time and was kind of shocked how winded they were. I kept up with not much of a problem. But made me wonder if their aerobic base is off, or they were trying too hard (racing 400, 800 m repeats), or something else? Made me feel hopeful that I'll see gains relatively soon by the interval speed work once a week the more I go. They thought I "sandbagged" them because they couldn't keep consistent paces for their repeats. Lol. I need some training buddies so I'll just keep going out with them and see where I'm at in a month.
Usually right away from my experience. I have seen huge jumps in race times in just one week then a more steady decrease in times til the end of the season.
If this is something you've never done you will see big leaps on performance within 3 weeks.
Jed Clampett wrote:
Most people do too much Hard Interval Training, which is 10 x 200 and above.
lol this is very wrong, or else a troll. Do you think that 11x200 at 10k pace is too hard for most runners? Yes, many people run intervals too fast for their current fitness. But running a good number of relaxed 200s is a good workout.
16 x 200m (200m jog) at 31.4 sec
that's charlie spedding training for an olympic marathon bronze, running somewhere in the neighborhood of his mile pace.