Last weekend, I set myself a new PB over 5k, shaving off seven seconds. Now, this doesn't sound like much, except that a) it is over 5k, and b) I haven't knocked that much off in months (it's all been one second here and there). This has happened at the same time as two elements of my training working together, and I don't think it's coincidence.
The first is that I've built up a lot of base mileage over the last 3 months. But slow, aerobic mileage. And that really does prepare you well for the second thing I've been doing. A new approach to speed work.
So, in October, I did a quick bit of maths. I can do 400m reps in about 75, 80 seconds. Which, in theory, should mean I can do 5k in about 16 minutes.
Erm, I can't.
This disconnect made me read up on the matter, and I discovered that many coaches are now advising that speed work is being approached differently. Basically, there are two schools of thought on how to run speed reps:
1. Run the reps as fast as you can. This stress on the aerobic system forces the anaerobic system to improve, making you faster.
2. Run the reps at a fraction faster than the fitness you are now. This makes you more efficient at your current speed, meaning you will run faster in races.
I am now finding that method 1 simply does not work for me. And personally, I think method 1 is a bad idea. For one thing, running a speed rep as fast as you can makes injury more likely. For another, you simply won't get as many quality reps in the set. Sure, you might still complete your 12 400m reps, but if you run them flat out, I bet your last ones will be poor quality. And finally, going full tilt on every rep will leave you so knackered that your training will suffer over the next few days.
So why not try method 2? Here's how it works in practice:
Michael can run 5k in 25 minutes. This works out at about 2 minutes per 400m. So, Michael chooses to run his 400 metre reps at about 1 minute 58 seconds. He nails this exact pace every rep, and does 12 of them (he's worked up to these from 8, then 10). The key thing is that Michael feels like he could do 1 or 2 more reps.
This is how you should feel after EVERY speed session.
You can equate this to 1k reps also. Take a runner who can do 5k in 20 minutes. That's a 4 minute kilometre. I'm sure that runner could do 1k in 3:45 or something, but they'd be hanging by the end, and the last of the 5 1k reps would be poor quality. If you can't maintain the pace for every rep, you're running them too fast. So try doing the reps at 3:59, 3:58 or something. But whatever the distance, I think the idea of speed training is to make you fitter at the speed you are NOW, enabling you to become faster over distance. You should run at the fitness you have now, not at the fitness you want to achieve.
Here's my experience of it. I did 12 400m reps a couple of weeks back, and rather than go full tilt, here's what I ended up doing:
Each of the 12 reps was at the same pace, but each rep could have been faster. And by the end of rep 12, I felt like I'd worked, but that I COULD still do one or two more. I was running at the 5k pace I had then, not the pace I wanted to achieve.
I've done this on 1k reps too. And the result has been the biggest reduction in my 5k time since July 2015. Now that my 5k pace is faster, I can reset my speed reps to reflect the improved fitness I now have.
Like all my blogs, I would like to reaffirm that I'm not saying that I am RIGHT. What I AM saying is that this has definitely worked for me. And as we're entering the racing season, maybe you could try it too?
Note: elements of this post came from the page http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/solving-the-5k-puzzle.
The first is that I've built up a lot of base mileage over the last 3 months. But slow, aerobic mileage. And that really does prepare you well for the second thing I've been doing. A new approach to speed work.
So, in October, I did a quick bit of maths. I can do 400m reps in about 75, 80 seconds. Which, in theory, should mean I can do 5k in about 16 minutes.
Erm, I can't.
This disconnect made me read up on the matter, and I discovered that many coaches are now advising that speed work is being approached differently. Basically, there are two schools of thought on how to run speed reps:
1. Run the reps as fast as you can. This stress on the aerobic system forces the anaerobic system to improve, making you faster.
2. Run the reps at a fraction faster than the fitness you are now. This makes you more efficient at your current speed, meaning you will run faster in races.
I am now finding that method 1 simply does not work for me. And personally, I think method 1 is a bad idea. For one thing, running a speed rep as fast as you can makes injury more likely. For another, you simply won't get as many quality reps in the set. Sure, you might still complete your 12 400m reps, but if you run them flat out, I bet your last ones will be poor quality. And finally, going full tilt on every rep will leave you so knackered that your training will suffer over the next few days.
So why not try method 2? Here's how it works in practice:
Michael can run 5k in 25 minutes. This works out at about 2 minutes per 400m. So, Michael chooses to run his 400 metre reps at about 1 minute 58 seconds. He nails this exact pace every rep, and does 12 of them (he's worked up to these from 8, then 10). The key thing is that Michael feels like he could do 1 or 2 more reps.
This is how you should feel after EVERY speed session.
You can equate this to 1k reps also. Take a runner who can do 5k in 20 minutes. That's a 4 minute kilometre. I'm sure that runner could do 1k in 3:45 or something, but they'd be hanging by the end, and the last of the 5 1k reps would be poor quality. If you can't maintain the pace for every rep, you're running them too fast. So try doing the reps at 3:59, 3:58 or something. But whatever the distance, I think the idea of speed training is to make you fitter at the speed you are NOW, enabling you to become faster over distance. You should run at the fitness you have now, not at the fitness you want to achieve.
Here's my experience of it. I did 12 400m reps a couple of weeks back, and rather than go full tilt, here's what I ended up doing:
Each of the 12 reps was at the same pace, but each rep could have been faster. And by the end of rep 12, I felt like I'd worked, but that I COULD still do one or two more. I was running at the 5k pace I had then, not the pace I wanted to achieve.
I've done this on 1k reps too. And the result has been the biggest reduction in my 5k time since July 2015. Now that my 5k pace is faster, I can reset my speed reps to reflect the improved fitness I now have.
Like all my blogs, I would like to reaffirm that I'm not saying that I am RIGHT. What I AM saying is that this has definitely worked for me. And as we're entering the racing season, maybe you could try it too?
Note: elements of this post came from the page http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/solving-the-5k-puzzle.
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