Run faster with this week’s workout: 8 x 400m
By enduring the stress of a speedy session on a track (or road, or boardwalk), you’re providing the stimulus your body needs to adapt and build back stronger. This will allow you to run faster with less effort at a later date. This workout is a good mid-week run for the beginning of a 5K training cycle. Always be sure to get a good warm-up in before a hard effort work-out and save the static stretching for afterwards. You can jog or slow walk the recovery between 400m repeats. You want a full recovery so you can hit every repeat at the same goal 5k race pace.
Speed work requires extra recovery time. Therefore, I recommend doing them only once every 1-2 weeks, especially if you’re new to faster interval training. Buffer the effort workouts with days of easy running, low impact cardio, or rest days. Always be sure to get a good warm-up in before a hard effort work-out. Save any static stretching for afterwards. Enjoy getting after it!
What: 8 x 400m @ Goal 5K Race Pace
Warm-up: 800m jog, dynamic drills, 6x20s strides, 40s rest
Workout: Run 400m (1/4 mile) at race pace (remember- you want to try to hit every repeat at the same pace), recover for 400m @ a slow jog or walk. Repeat for a total of 8 rounds.
Cool-down: 800m jog, static stretches, eat some protein and drink your water!
The entire workout should be roughly 4.5 miles but it’ll go by in a breeze. You can modify this to be less intervals if you just want to test it out (4-6) or more (10-12) if you are training for a longer race and are under the guidance of a running coach.
