What kind of interval training do you do runners?

McCloud33

I've done interval training a few times in the past, but was wondering what kind of splits other people do and if there are any that work better for increasing speed than others. My intervals in the past have been either 1min fast/ 2min slow, alternated for 30 min, or I've done it by laps on the track .5 mi warm-up, .25 mi fast, .25 mi slow, .5 mi fast, .25 mi slow, 1 mi fast, .25 mi slow, .5 mi fast, .25 mi slow, .25 mi fast, .25 mi slow, .5 mi cool down.

McCloud33

Anybody?

cheshirecatastrophe

Science says 3-5 minute intervals with short recovery is optimal; I usually see "5K race pace" mentioned as the speed. I prefer counting by distance instead of time, which puts me roughly in the 800 and 1200 (.5, .75) distances. I occasionally push for mile repeats on that pace as well, but that's more a mental thing for working through the pain at the end of a long race than expecting extra *physical* benefits.

I also do speedwork in the pool as water running, where I do a 1,2,3,4,5,4,3,2,1 minute pyramid with 1-2 minutes rest in between, or time them according to the song on my MP3 player because pool running sucks so why not.

LKArgh

For longer runs, sets of 2 minutes running 1 power walking, for 3-4 times, then 3 minutes running 1 walking for 3-4 times, then 4 minutes running and 1 walking for 3-4 times, then work my way backwards.
Or if I have limited time, I try something like 300meters run, 100 meters sprint, 100 meters walk, usually for 8-10 times.
On the treadmill, I also like intervals of fast walking at highest incline, like 2 minutes or so, then run fast for 2 minutes with little to no incline, cool down for 1 minute, repeat until I get bored.

LKArgh

aggelikik wrote: »

For longer runs, sets of 2 minutes running 1 power walking, for 3-4 times, then 3 minutes running 1 walking for 3-4 times, then 4 minutes running and 1 walking for 3-4 times, then work my way backwards.
Or if I have limited time, I try something like 300meters run, 100 meters sprint, 100 meters walk, usually for 8-10 times.
On the treadmill, I also like intervals of fast walking at highest incline, like 2 minutes or so, then run fast for 2 minutes with little to no incline, cool down for 1 minute, repeat until I get bored.

Now I am trying to recover from an injury, so I am back to the start, c25k style, with walking and jogging intervals, trying to convince myself that I absolutely should not run

Just115Pounds

I do HIIT Treadmill workouts every Mon, Wed, and Fri. They look like this: Run at 8mph on an incline of 3 for 1 min, break for 30s on sides of treadmill, and hop to it 10x.

MeanderingMammal

For an interval session I'll generally do 400 metre or 200 metre repeats. Decent warm up for 10 or 15 minutes then 5 or 6 repeats of 400 fast with 400 slow, then a comparable cool down, or 10 repeats of 200/200.

My tempo sessions tend to include some 1km or 2km intervals with a one minute slow period, but that's more of a threshold session than VO2Max. Where a 400 or 200metre session would be in the order of 40-50 minutes including the warm up and cool down a tempo session would be in the 90 minute to 120 minute range.

ThickMcRunFast

Depends on the length of the race I'm training for.

5k? 400m repeats with 90 second recoveries.
Marathon? varies, but a lot of stuff in the 1k-2k range, with as much as 2 minute recoveries.

Though I will also do 800m and mile repeats for shorter races as well. They all have their place.

I will usually warm up for at least a mile, then 5x whatever distance (3x if I'm in the early training stages), and at least a mile cool down. If I'm training for a longer race, I will do as many as 8 miles total during an interval session.

McCloud33

ThickMcRunFast wrote: »

Depends on the length of the race I'm training for.

5k? 400m repeats with 90 second recoveries.
Marathon? varies, but a lot of stuff in the 1k-2k range, with as much as 2 minute recoveries.

Though I will also do 800m and mile repeats for shorter races as well. They all have their place.

I will usually warm up for at least a mile, then 5x whatever distance (3x if I'm in the early training stages), and at least a mile cool down. If I'm training for a longer race, I will do as many as 8 miles total during an interval session.

Yeah, I'm more of a 5k racer myself. At some point I'd like to try a 10k or maybe a half. No desire at all to do a full marathon and if I ever did, I wouldn't be worried about my time.

Is there a difference between using a slower jog vs a walk vs an all out stop for your rest periods? My fastest every 3mile run was just over 19min, but that was as a senior in HS at 145lbs. Since getting back in shape (185-190lbs) , my fastest has been about 19:50 for the three mile split. Ultimately, I'd like to get to where I could be under 19 again in a 5k.

sarafischbach9

I make it different every time. Makes things less boring on the treadmill.

Today I did a 5.7 mile run. I did the first 4.7 at a steady pace ( 9:30 ) and then I did the last mile at an 8:00 pace. I'm a slow poke, so anything above 7.2 is speed work for me. I am working my way up though!

Sometimes I do two minutes easy, two minutes faster and go back and forth. Last week I did a 6-miler with a 1 mile warm up and 5.5 with the intervals and .5 cool down.

Other times I do a tempo interval where I will hold a faster yet steady pace for like 10 to 15 minutes. Usually this is 7 mph and then for 5 minutes I will do like 6.5 mph and go back and forth.

And other times I do progression kind of stuff.... where I slowly build up speed, peak and then cool down.

It just depends on what I feel like doing.

ThickMcRunFast

McCloud33 wrote: »

ThickMcRunFast wrote: »

Depends on the length of the race I'm training for.

5k? 400m repeats with 90 second recoveries.
Marathon? varies, but a lot of stuff in the 1k-2k range, with as much as 2 minute recoveries.

Though I will also do 800m and mile repeats for shorter races as well. They all have their place.

I will usually warm up for at least a mile, then 5x whatever distance (3x if I'm in the early training stages), and at least a mile cool down. If I'm training for a longer race, I will do as many as 8 miles total during an interval session.

Yeah, I'm more of a 5k racer myself. At some point I'd like to try a 10k or maybe a half. No desire at all to do a full marathon and if I ever did, I wouldn't be worried about my time.

Is there a difference between using a slower jog vs a walk vs an all out stop for your rest periods? My fastest every 3mile run was just over 19min, but that was as a senior in HS at 145lbs. Since getting back in shape (185-190lbs) , my fastest has been about 19:50 for the three mile split. Ultimately, I'd like to get to where I could be under 19 again in a 5k.

There is a metabolic difference between jogging ("active") and walking ("passive") recovery- which one is advantageous depends on the workout. For intervals that will last between 3-5 minutes, jogging tends to be better because it pumps more blood through your body and flushes the metabolic waste - leaving you fresher for the next interval. If you are doing shorter intervals, its best to walk. 90 seconds of walking will recharge your phosphocreatine, which helps more for short bursts.

McCloud33

ThickMcRunFast wrote: »

McCloud33 wrote: »

ThickMcRunFast wrote: »

Depends on the length of the race I'm training for.

5k? 400m repeats with 90 second recoveries.
Marathon? varies, but a lot of stuff in the 1k-2k range, with as much as 2 minute recoveries.

Though I will also do 800m and mile repeats for shorter races as well. They all have their place.

I will usually warm up for at least a mile, then 5x whatever distance (3x if I'm in the early training stages), and at least a mile cool down. If I'm training for a longer race, I will do as many as 8 miles total during an interval session.

Yeah, I'm more of a 5k racer myself. At some point I'd like to try a 10k or maybe a half. No desire at all to do a full marathon and if I ever did, I wouldn't be worried about my time.

Is there a difference between using a slower jog vs a walk vs an all out stop for your rest periods? My fastest every 3mile run was just over 19min, but that was as a senior in HS at 145lbs. Since getting back in shape (185-190lbs) , my fastest has been about 19:50 for the three mile split. Ultimately, I'd like to get to where I could be under 19 again in a 5k.

There is a metabolic difference between jogging ("active") and walking ("passive") recovery- which one is advantageous depends on the workout. For intervals that will last between 3-5 minutes, jogging tends to be better because it pumps more blood through your body and flushes the metabolic waste - leaving you fresher for the next interval. If you are doing shorter intervals, its best to walk. 90 seconds of walking will recharge your phosphocreatine, which helps more for short bursts.

Very interesting! I figured there was some difference, but it's good to know what it is and what to target on my runs. Thanks!

girlwithcurls2

Steep hills. 'Nuf said.

silver_inca

I do the below 30-20-10 method twice (12 mins total) on a 2.0 incline, really gets the heart pumping!

1 min @ 3 mph warm up walk then,

repeat this 5 times:

30 secs jog @ 5 mph
20 secs run @ 6 mph
10 secs sprint @ 7 mph

McCloud33

girlwithcurls2 wrote: »

Steep hills. 'Nuf said.

Unfortunately I live in a VERY flat part of the country and there aren't any good hills around me. Not even a stadium close that I could go do stairs on.

GiddyupTim

I do not necessarily do intervals on my regular, long runs. But once a week my run is six 800m's, with a 100m slow jog in between each one. I also run stairs at least once a week, and I generally finish my runs with a sprint of some sort.

chunkytfg

McCloud33 wrote: »

girlwithcurls2 wrote: »

Steep hills. 'Nuf said.

Unfortunately I live in a VERY flat part of the country and there aren't any good hills around me. Not even a stadium close that I could go do stairs on.

Multi storey car park? if it has the circular ramps they work really well

Personally to aid my running speed I do a selection of workouts.

Hill repeats are pretty self explanatory tbh, find a hill, 1minute up it, jog down turn round and repeat 10 times or so.

Gym sessions tend to be treadmill focussed but my run coach swaps them around quite a lot. At the moment I do

30sec Jacobs ladder 150+rpm
30sec 17.6kph treadmill
12 pressup Burpees
12 squat and press 20kg
30sec jumping lunges
30sec Jacobs Ladder 150+ rpm
30sec 17.6kph treadmill

All done continuous. repeat 4-6 times with about 3 mins walk on treadmill recovery between sets.

Track sessions vary but about every 6 weeks I do 10x yasso800's which are 800m reps done at your estimated marathon finish time converted from hhmm to mmss. so a 4hour finish time is each 800 done in 4 mins and you have the same rest between. I tend to do them off 3.30 although I know I can't do a 3.30 marathon.

arussell134

I'm currently following this Hal Higdon Advanced 5K Schedule. It alternates 400m and 200m intervals.
http://www.halhigdon.com/training/50935/5K-Advanced-Training-Program

For instance, here was my workout, from Tuesday:

Warm up, 1.5 miles at slow pace (for me, this is 10 minute/mile); Stretch
200 m at very fast pace (for me, this ended up being a 6:20 minute/mile)
1-2 minutes of walking/recovery
Repeat 8 times
Cool down 1 mile at slow pace

The 400m I ran last week were at a 7:30 pace.

HTH!!

McCloud33

Mine for today was .75 mile warm-up @ approx 9 min/mi pace then I alternated 400 fast (around 6 min/mi pace) and 800 jog (10 min/mile) for a total of 6 miles in about 49 minutes.

4leighbee

I prefer the shorter intervals (.25 mi 5K race pace) and dread the middle distance repeats (.50 mi or 1.0 mi repeats) sooooooo I am doing the middle distance repeats once a week for a while to try to break my disdain for them. We'll see if it works. I think, too, that the 1.0 mi repeats will probably really improve my 5K time, which is a 2015 objective.