How much rest in intervals?
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On the TM, I'll warm up at least 1 mile before I start intevals, and I'll warm down at least 1 mile. The rest between intervals depends on my fitness at the time, and what I'm trying to accomplish. On the roads I warmup for at least 2 miles, and warm down a mile or two (maybe more).
I'd go with a 200-meter recovery jog between reps, and no faster than current 10k pace on the miles. Four x's sounds like enough at your mileage, but if you slow the pace to HM You might be able to handle 5 or 6. The key is to be able to do them week in and week out without burning out. You could probably make it through a couple workouts at 5k pace, but it would catch up with you and really seems unecessary if HM is your goal race.<br><br>
Fwiw, I had 2 key workouts before my last HM, which was probably my best race of the year. The most frequent was 5 or 6 x 1600 on the track at HM pace with 200-meter recovery jog. The other was 5 x 1K at 10k pace with 200 jog. Another point I almost forgot was the longish warmup and cooldown--at least 3 miles on the w/u and 2 on the c/d. This is one of the little things that can make a big difference, imo.<br><br>
Good luck in your race
Fwiw, I had 2 key workouts before my last HM, which was probably my best race of the year. The most frequent was 5 or 6 x 1600 on the track at HM pace with 200-meter recovery jog. The other was 5 x 1K at 10k pace with 200 jog. Another point I almost forgot was the longish warmup and cooldown--at least 3 miles on the w/u and 2 on the c/d. This is one of the little things that can make a big difference, imo.<br><br>
Good luck in your race
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Curious about why the different warm up/cool down for TM vs. Roads? Thanks.
Mile intervals at 5k race pace are a bit long for slowpokes like us. Daniels says max of 5 min. Pfitzinger says 6 min. If you go ahead and do them at 5k pace I suggest recovery equal to two thirds of the interval time. Just jog easy until your legs have fully recovered. I would not do them at 10k race pace, but rather at threshold pace. In that case I would jog for about a minute in between intervals.
Nothing wrong with mixing and matching as long as you understand what's behind the schedule and also what effect you are trying to produce on your body.<br><br>
If you are trying to work on VO2 max then you should be running at pace near your 15 min all out pace. For faster runners that's about 5k pace, but for slower runners it's closer to 4k or maybe even 3k pace. Intervals like this can be anywhere between a minute and 5 minutes long, but I prefer them around 4 min, which is approximately 800 meters for me. Should be the same for you too, based on your HM goal time. Recovery time can be about 2/3 to 9/10 of the interval time, but the important thing is to be fully recovered before starting the next one. I like to do 800 meters at interval pace (about 3:50 for me) followed by 400 meters at slow jog pace (about 3 min) on a track. It works well.<br><br>
But if you want to work on threshold then you should be running intervals around your hour race pace. For faster runners that's coser to half marathon, but for slower runners like us it's a bit slower than 10k pace. Slower intervals such as threshold paced intervals can be longer, (up to a couple of miles) and can have shorter recovery in between.
If you are trying to work on VO2 max then you should be running at pace near your 15 min all out pace. For faster runners that's about 5k pace, but for slower runners it's closer to 4k or maybe even 3k pace. Intervals like this can be anywhere between a minute and 5 minutes long, but I prefer them around 4 min, which is approximately 800 meters for me. Should be the same for you too, based on your HM goal time. Recovery time can be about 2/3 to 9/10 of the interval time, but the important thing is to be fully recovered before starting the next one. I like to do 800 meters at interval pace (about 3:50 for me) followed by 400 meters at slow jog pace (about 3 min) on a track. It works well.<br><br>
But if you want to work on threshold then you should be running intervals around your hour race pace. For faster runners that's coser to half marathon, but for slower runners like us it's a bit slower than 10k pace. Slower intervals such as threshold paced intervals can be longer, (up to a couple of miles) and can have shorter recovery in between.
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Most non-beginner HM plans have 800s and Mile repeats on alternate weeks. On the days where the schedule has 4 * 1 mile, do tempo (threshold) intervals, as per Tigger. You can move to 4*1 mile later. The 800s are the VO2 max workout.<br><br>
Reference <a href="http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/training4.htm" target="_blank">http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/training4.htm</a>
Reference <a href="http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/training4.htm" target="_blank">http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/training4.htm</a>
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I'm with Jim on this. I took over 20 minutes off my half marathon time in a year doing pretty much just easy miles and threshold runs - no real speed work at all. I only recently added some strides to the training plan, just to get the legs used to moving a little quicker.
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