State Machine wrote:
Good thread!
My goal is to race a good HM (masters runner). Which of these variations would benefit me the most? If all three have their place, how should I slot them in my training? I have about 15 weeks until race day.
1. Keep the number of repeats a constant but try to run them faster as fitness improves.
2. Increase the number of repeats up to say 20, while keeping the effort at HM race effort.
3. Keep the number of repeats a constant but make the recovery up-tempo, i.e speed up the downhill segment as fitness improves.
Thank you.
State Machine:
I assume you mean half marathon by HM? Since you are also over age 40... then you will have somewhat less recovery abilities compared to someone under the age of 30. You may be able to do this workout weekly... or you may need to do it once every 10-14 days... depending on how hard on your body you find it is.... after a couple of these challenging workouts. I usually recommend most interval sessions be from 2-5 miles in length total! Depends on whether you are doing shorter (150-250 m) hill sprints.... or doing longer ones of 400-600 in length. Basically I would start with a shorter number of intervals.... say 8-10 X 400.... at slower HM pace.... then gradually work them up to 10K pace.... before slowing down the speed and expand your workout to span 10-14 x400... at HM pace again.... then working your way back to 10K pace... then finally lengthening your intervals to 12-16 x 400 again starting a HM pace but working your way down to 10K pace at the end of your next 12-14 weeks... giving yourself at least 2 weeks of recovery with no hill intervals to "freshen up" for your target race. Is your target race hilly or not? Do you understand my logic? Oh, and always do your recovery jogs/walks easy to maximize recovery before the next hill rep. You will need it, trust me! Especially as a masters runner. Best, Craig