We all know the saying; no pain, no gains. Well this session has plenty of both. Big gains, if you can put up with the lactic burn.
This workout if designed to focus on that sweet spot of speed endurance. Basically, it’s your race pace workout for middle distance.
Races are won and lost with this fitness; the ability to hold your sprint pace longer than your rivals. Most middle distance events – 800m all the way up to 5,000m – come down to a last lap burn up. You’re starting your flat our sprint from a position of fatigue and looking at holding your pace as your rivals fade.
Session structure:
A great session for building this speed-endurance is running flat out 400m. But be warned, the lactic acid soon kicks in. Remember to get plenty of recovery between sets – six or seven minutes rest is a good starting point.
The emphasis has to be on high quality efforts. You want to be simulating 800m race speeds and efforts with each run.
Feel the burn:
The goal is to learn to cope with a build up of lactic acid and fatigue. In other words, replicate what the last lap of an 800 feels like.
We’ve all seen those races where the front runner comes into the home straight, with clear air between them and second place, only to tie up and grind to a halt before the finish line. And don’t think only amateurs fall into this trap. It happens to the very best athletes too.
The effects of lactic are instant and debilitating if you can’t manage that effort and build up tolerance. That’s why this session is ideal.
Session: 3/4 x 400m – six minutes recovery
This is best done on a proper running track. But you can try to replicate it with two fixed points about 400m or roughly one minute flat out running apart.
A track is ideal because you can take your 200m splits during the runs. You want to hold a consistence pace during each effort. No point being on world record pace through 200m, only to fade away to walking pace by the time you hit the finish line.
The first 200m needs to be close to the last (obviously factoring in the standing start).
Frequency:
It’s great to work this session in during the build up to races. A week or two before your target event, you should be increasing the quality and speed in sessions and backing off the volume and milage. This ensures you’re not overly tired and have the zip in your legs.
Once of twice a week should give you a good idea of your predicted race performance and overall fitness.
This is also a great workout for people stretched for time. Mix it up – 6 x 200m flat out, for example. These quality sessions won’t take too long to complete and should result in big fitness gains.
Just be prepared for the pain!
