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For a while now, I have been curious about a type of interval session often performed by cyclists. They will regularly do very high numbers of short intervals with very short recoveries. An example, that was made popular by a paper from Ronnestad, is 3 sets of 13x30s/15s recovery
This morning I decided to try my own version: 2x20x200m with 15s between reps. A couple of interesting takeaways:
1) Keeping the intervals short meant I could do 8km of work at ~3k race pace
2) The heart rate trace looked more like two tempo blocks rather than discrete intervals
1) Keeping the intervals short meant I could do 8km of work at ~3k race pace
2) The heart rate trace looked more like two tempo blocks rather than discrete intervals
If I had measured my lactate, it would be a lot lower than if I have tried to do 8x1km at the same pace, suggesting a greater aerobic emphasis. Likewise, peak HR was only 90% of max.
I could see this type of session working well in the base period for 5k/10k runners, as it
I could see this type of session working well in the base period for 5k/10k runners, as it
allows you to accumulate a large volume of fast running for not too great of a physiological stress. I feel it would prepare you nicely for the specific sessions that would come later on, where you use traditional longer intervals at goal race pace with moderate recoveries.
It could also work well for (half) marathon runners, who want to still include some faster running but with an aerobic emphasis and without leaving too much fatigue.
I'll certainly be doing some more sessions like this in the early part of my Olympic Trials prep.
I'll certainly be doing some more sessions like this in the early part of my Olympic Trials prep.
