I wanted to share two good marathon-focused speed workouts that I came across and put into action this week. I, along with another friend, lead a Tuesday/Thursday morning run group and I am always on the lookout for new workouts to mix things up. With many people training for Fall marathons, we've turned to more marathon-focused longer speed workouts. I really liked the workouts we did this week, and wanted to share should you be looking for some workout ideas.
1 -2x1600m (mile) tempo pace, 2-6 x hill repeats, followed by another 2x 1600m at tempo pace.
The challenge with this workout is to not to let the pace of your second set of 1600's drop too much after the hill repeats. The hill we used was about .12 of a mile in length, which if you did 6 repeats, ended up being a little more than a mile in hills (counting the run back down the hills). To run 2 more miles uptempo, after running a mile of hills (preceded by 2 tempo miles) was tough, but I felt like it was a good simulation of the marathon itself as it's inevitable that you will be running on tired legs once you hit Mile 20 - and are faced with the challenge of not letting your pace fall off. I also liked how this workout combined speed and strength. For the mile course, I choose a course that started out flat/downhill on the front end, before a steady incline on the back end; again, having the uphill on the back half of the mile course challenged you to work harder not to let your pace fall off.
My legs felt pretty good on Tuesday after only cross training on Monday. The workout went like this for me:
2 x 1600 (6:36, 6:30); 6 x hill repeats (1.2 miles @7:31 pace); 2 x 1600 (6:39, 6:47)
I fell off some the last mile, but was able to keep them all under 7 min.
2 - 2 x 400/800/2400/800/400 Meter Compound Sets
This is a marathon specific compound set.
Description: Run 400 meters at mile pace, 800 meters at 5K pace and 2400 meters at goal marathon pace. Then begin increasing pace again with 800 meters at 5K pace and 400 meters at mile pace. Take no recovery between the components of the compound set. Repeat 1 more time for a total of 2 compound sets.
Recovery: No recovery within each compound set. Recover between each compound set with 3 minutes of passive rest.
This was a TOUGH workout; 6 miles of speed work with little rest. This is also a workout that needs to be done on fresh(er) legs (or maybe it was more benefit on tired legs?).
Coming off of 14 miles yesterday, I struggled with this workout a little bit this morning.
-Compound Set 1 - 3.05 miles/21:46/7:08 avg pace
-Compound Set 2 - 3.05 miles/22:26/7:21 avg pace
I struggled to hit my targets on the second compound and it ended up being much slower than the first. Hitting that mile pace at the end of the second compound was pushing it for me. I look forward to doing this workout again later in my training cycle to see how I've improved (and hopefully I will improve).
Okay that's all. Run Nerd Out.
The challenge with this workout is to not to let the pace of your second set of 1600's drop too much after the hill repeats. The hill we used was about .12 of a mile in length, which if you did 6 repeats, ended up being a little more than a mile in hills (counting the run back down the hills). To run 2 more miles uptempo, after running a mile of hills (preceded by 2 tempo miles) was tough, but I felt like it was a good simulation of the marathon itself as it's inevitable that you will be running on tired legs once you hit Mile 20 - and are faced with the challenge of not letting your pace fall off. I also liked how this workout combined speed and strength. For the mile course, I choose a course that started out flat/downhill on the front end, before a steady incline on the back end; again, having the uphill on the back half of the mile course challenged you to work harder not to let your pace fall off.
My legs felt pretty good on Tuesday after only cross training on Monday. The workout went like this for me:
2 x 1600 (6:36, 6:30); 6 x hill repeats (1.2 miles @7:31 pace); 2 x 1600 (6:39, 6:47)
I fell off some the last mile, but was able to keep them all under 7 min.
2 - 2 x 400/800/2400/800/400 Meter Compound Sets
This is a marathon specific compound set.
Description: Run 400 meters at mile pace, 800 meters at 5K pace and 2400 meters at goal marathon pace. Then begin increasing pace again with 800 meters at 5K pace and 400 meters at mile pace. Take no recovery between the components of the compound set. Repeat 1 more time for a total of 2 compound sets.
Recovery: No recovery within each compound set. Recover between each compound set with 3 minutes of passive rest.
This was a TOUGH workout; 6 miles of speed work with little rest. This is also a workout that needs to be done on fresh(er) legs (or maybe it was more benefit on tired legs?).
Coming off of 14 miles yesterday, I struggled with this workout a little bit this morning.
-Compound Set 1 - 3.05 miles/21:46/7:08 avg pace
-Compound Set 2 - 3.05 miles/22:26/7:21 avg pace
I struggled to hit my targets on the second compound and it ended up being much slower than the first. Hitting that mile pace at the end of the second compound was pushing it for me. I look forward to doing this workout again later in my training cycle to see how I've improved (and hopefully I will improve).
Okay that's all. Run Nerd Out.
I liked Tuesday's workout a lot. I thought the hills in the middle gave somewhat of a break between the monotony of the 1600's. I would like to run it without dogs so I could really try to keep my pace, but it was a great workout nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteGlad I didn't come this morning, that sounds like a really tough speed workout! I like rest in between! :)
You guys come up with some great workouts, and lately have been changing it up! Keep up the good work I know everyone at group appreciates it!
I'm so glad you liked it! I really enjoy putting the workouts together...and love having you join us!
DeleteMan! You are speedy! You should feel really good with your fitness level right now. Those hills will help you in Baltimore. I only really remember them being hard around the 18-20 mile mark...but that is the toughest point in every marathon for me.
ReplyDeleteHi Jessica! Thank you! I am feeling good right now - I'm hoping it continues into a good training cycle for me. I hope your running is going well!
DeleteThese are awesome workouts I would like to try too! The compound set looks especially challenging.
ReplyDeleteHere are a couple that I did leading up to Austin in 2011.
2 miles HM pace
2 X 1 mile 10K pace
2 X 800 5K pace
(rest intervals determined by where you are at in season.)
Then this one which kicked my butt. This was recommended by the guy who coached me at the time who is insane :) (in a good way) I may or may not have shed a tear during this workout.
2 mi warmup
6 miles M pace
5 X 1000 T pace
6 miles M pace
2 mi cooldown
(no or minimal rest between speed changes)
There's no doubt you can run sub 3:10!!! Good luck!!-Meredith :)
Ooooo, those look great Meredith! Thank you for sharing - I love a good challenge. Can't wait to try them. You should come run with us sometime if you can swing it :)
DeleteI hope I can get down there sometime when my husband has leave from work! I have not linked up with anyone locally. I did get schooled by the local track star up here yesterday in a 5K and practically begged her parents to bring her to the track on Saturdays..it was pretty sad. I was like-I can start an interval first, and then she can catch me!! (This girl is ridiculous-11 flat two mile as a sophomore, 5:17 mile). We'll see how that goes!!
ReplyDeleteMeant to tell you that there are a few 10K's up here over the summer in our area. Google Centex Race Series 2012. I don't know if they are advertised down your way! Most are chip timed, so that is cool. Take care!
Don't feel bad - it happens to the best of us! Last November I clearly remember getting smoked by an 11 yr old girl who came out of nowhere and ran a sub 18 5k at a local race. I try to tell myself they have youth on their side :)
DeleteThanks for the info on the Centex Race series! I had not heard of it and will check it out! I'm always looking for races, and there aren't a whole lot in the summer :)
Thanks for posting about these they look awesome (run nerd). That compound set seems like a great progression without the rest. Definitely may see about mixing them in my next cycle, which starts Monday.
ReplyDeleteNo problem! Let me know how it goes if you try them. Sincerely, Run nerd
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