3x2400m Workout

Ehhh that might be a lot of volume tbh, especially only a week out from your goal race you're doing 7200m at 5k pace which is really tough on the legs. I know a lot of people talk about 3x1600m as a more common 5k indicator (youd be doing them in like 5:48) which is maybe a little lighter

How much rest would you reccomend? The last time I did a 3x1600m I completed each rep in 5:46 with 3min of standing rest in between.

Although I've heard the 3x1600m isn't as good of an indicator as something like the 3x2400m or 2x3200m, but could be wrong.

This should’ve been done 3 weeks out. Some good ol’ 400s before the race at goal pace is more like it.

Unfortunately track was still going on 2 weeks back, so there was never really an ideal time to do a 3x2400m. You were suggesting 400s, but would 600s do the trick as well? I was thinking 3 days out from the race I'd do a 6x600m workout w/ 200m jogged recovery (last harder workout before the race).

Just stop. Don't do 3 x 2400. Don't do any of the workouts that you're thinking about. Everything you have proposed so far is a terrible idea that will make you run slower, not faster. If you've been doing workouts that suggest you're in 18:00 shape, then go out at 18:00 pace. You don't need a predictor workout. You need to trust your training.

1.5 miles is too far for intervals at 5K pace. About 1 mile is the maximum that you should be doing at that pace, and you only need to do that once or so. Or never. To go 1.5-2 miles at 5K pace requires a race-like effort.

Above all, it takes time to absorb the fitness gains from a workout, and you are out of time. A week out is too close for anything but locking in the pace and some strides. You would need more like at least 10 days to really benefit from a big workout. At this point, you have as much aerobic fitness as you're going to have. You can't get fitter, but you can waste your fitness on pointless workouts.

Sure, do 2 x 600, 2 x 400, 2 x 200 at goal pace (or a bit faster on the 200s) with plenty of rest in between. Add 1 tempo mile to start off with if you insist. But the goal is just to lock in the pace, not to hammer out a huge workout. The time for that is gone.

And don't run 6 x 600 three days out from your race! Jog a few miles and run some race-pace strides of 60-150m.

guy who broke 18 yesterday wrote:

And don't run 6 x 600 three days out from your race! Jog a few miles and run some race-pace strides of 60-150m.

This. Nothing you do 3 days before a race will give you better fitness.

John A. wrote:

The last time I did a 3x1600m I completed each rep in 5:46 with 3min of standing rest in between.

That workout would be perfect, or else 5x1000m would be excellent too.

The latter was a favorite session of Henry Rono's in his prime.

OK. I ended up doing a 3x1600m, which was perhaps too much basing on what you said. Planning to do 5 miles w/ strides tmr, and the workout you suggested (2x6, 2x4, 2x2) for Wednesday. Thursday should only be 4 w/ strides, and Friday only 2.