What are some of the toughest workouts that you somehow finished?

When I was kinda new to running (but VERY fit from years of base running only) I had a friend who kinda advised me on workouts for an upcoming marathon. We had regularly been doing 6X1mile at HMP with 200 jog recovery with long w/up and c/down (he was a big devotee of Tinman 'Big' runs). We were talking and he mentioned that 3X2mile with 400jog recovery would be a good workout too. So one day after work I went out and did a 3mile easy w/up, then 6 X 2 mile at HMP with 400 jog recovery and 3 more c/down miles (almost 20 total miles of which 12 were at HMP). I had misheard him or had done so many 6X1's that I just thought 6X2 was right. After the 2nd one I thought there was no f'ing way I could finish it but I definitely started to groove into it and got it done. That was 2 weeks before my marathon and I ran really, really well at that race. Go figure.

My hardest workouts:

(1) 3 x 3 miles at T (a staple of my marathon builds)

(2) 8 x 1 mile with 30 seconds rest (aka the "Achilles destroyer" -- this one was so bad I only did it once. Never again)

(3) 17 miles @ marathon pace (don't go this far at M anymore either)

As a relatively underperforming, high 15:xx 5k guy in college, running 3x1 mile under 5 minutes was an accomplishment for me.

Alternatively, 3-2-1 mile cutdowns were a staple of 10k/half training after college.

6x mile about 90% serious uphill.

10 x 1k with 90s rest, as well.

Mine was a solo workout (gf on bike beside me) 2 mile, 3min rest, 1 mile, 1min rest, 1/2 mile.

What made it hard was I was supposed to hit 9:30-45, 4:30-35, 2:10-2:15. I was only running 15:10 5k and 4:20 mile and had never tried to improve my HS 2mile pr of 10. Though ran faster 2 mile splits in 5ks in college it was just a mental thing.

Ended up running 9:32, 4:32, 2:10 Was my best eva! Hate on!

12 x 1/4 mile hills at about 5k pace. Psychology the first 6 are difficult, 1 down 11 to go, ect.

Physically the last 2 or 3 are really tough.

Recovery 30 seconds at the top and bottom.

4x(400, 300, 200)

start at slower than mile race pace, and eventually ramp it up to above race pace.

It wasnt the sheer volume of the workout, just purely how i underestimated how the pace would escalate.

Beginning of the second set, I leaned over to my friend and said "damn this is easy man"

Between each rep of the last set, I was on the ground screaming(in a manly way of course lmao)

3x(600-500-400) @ mile pace

60sec. rest after the 6 and 90sec. after the 600

Hurt me real bad.

Hardest workout I've ever done was a peaking session my high school coach had me do: 15 x 200 all under 30 secs., with the only recovery being a jog across the infield from finish line back to the start. Given that I wasn't a speed-based runner (my best 400 was only 57 high in a relay split) this was full-tilt all the way for me, and by the end I was vomiting.

4 x (600, 600, 300, 300)

600s at 5K pace, 300 at mile pace. Short recoveries

I nearly defecated

1 x Marathon at marathon race pace.

Super hard. Barfed at the end on two occasions.

In college, we would do 20 x 200 on the indoor track all under :30 with :30 rest. First 10 were easy, the last five were hellish. Add in the fact that the humidity level in the building was desert like, you had a recipe for an evening of uncontrollable hacking. (At this point in my life, I would be thrilled to hit one 200 under :30.)

Michigan was always tough

other rough ones was 13x500 hill circuit with active recovery jog of around 2 minutes. 1st 4 were comfortably hard, maybe around 2k-3k race effort then it picked up from there. 13th reserved for an all out sprint. Was on a XC course and would involve an uphill of varying steepness, flat section and a downhill also of varying steepness

PR Machine wrote:

1 x Marathon at marathon race pace.

Super hard. Barfed at the end on two occasions.

You can actually make this workout a little more challenging if you do the first 10 miles at HMP. Makes for a super interesting last 16.

5x18

In college in the early 2000s I bounced between the distance group and mid-d group, but a mid-d workout took the cake.

It was an end of season tune-up, super hard by design. 600, 2x300, 2x150. (in 1:53 shape at the time) I hit 1:22 for 600, then ran both 300s reps in 40.low seconds. The final 150s I ran in 19.mid or so. That workout did crazy things to my legs, I have never been so muscularly fatigued. My log says

"The 150s were way harder than I would have ever imagined. It was almost like I couldn't feel my legs at the start of the first 150, and I actually felt like I stumbled for the first few steps/couldn't control my muscles well."

3x400 w/ 5 mins recovery

4x1600 at goal 5k pace with 4:00. Averaged exactly what I raced a couple weeks later.

5x2 mike at goal half marathon pace with 3-4 minutes. Have done 4 reps many times, did 5 once.

Any long Fartlek alternating hard/steady. Have done malmo’s 5:00 hard/5:00 steady x 5-7 many times and always end up overcooking it. Have done canovas 8x (1k hard/1k steady) geared to half marathon pace as the hards and that was rough too.

Did 18 miles + warmup and cooldown as 3x6 mile cutdown with no break, going 5:40-5:30-5:20. Raced a marathon at 5:27s 2 weeks later.