Interval training advice please.

I'm working towards 10k, doing 1 x maintenance 5K, one longer run (plus half a kilometre on every week) and some intervals every week, my question is what kind of interval training would be good? I've been doing the + podcast "Speed" and enjoying it, but is it enough? And what is tempo run please?

[Tomas Graduate]

I do two types of interval running:

1) Speed intervals. 1 km warm-up, gentle jogging. Then 8 intervals of (1 minute fast + 2 minutes slow). Sometimes I add a bit of cool-down jogging at the end, and other times I just walk home. I feel this one works really well, because it's only 1 minute really hard work at a time, but the repetitions do work.

2) Tempo intervals. 1 km warm-up, gentle jogging. Then 1 km at a sustainable-fast speed (for me that means 1 minute per km less than my slow speed), 1 km slow, 1 km sustainable-fast, and finally 1 km slow to get back home.

Tempo run just means running at speed, often taken to mean running at the target speed for some future event. So if you were planning, for instance, for a 10 km and wanted to do it in an hour, your tempo runs (what I have called sustainable-fast above) would be 10 km/h or 6 min/km.

Do give it a go, Curly. Intervals do work in getting the speed up, and after a few sessions you will find that your "slow" speed also improves without you actively trying for it.

[Hidden in reply to Tomas]

That's nice and clear, thank you. "Speed" is working for me, I just wondered if it was enough

[GettingFitter Graduate]

Hi Curly tempo run is defined here runnersworld.com/tag/tempo-run For intervals you can choose how to run I used 2 minutes run fast followed by 1 minute jog to recover and just repeat as many times as you want. I'd also recommend trying some hills -find a steep one run as fast as you can up to a point then jog back down to your start point. try and add a repeat each week. I would jog to a hill run up and down it and then jog back. Intervals are also called Fartlek see here runnersworld.com/race-train...

Hope this helps

[misswobble Graduate in reply to GettingFitter]

The advantage of downloading a plan to achieve a specific distance for a race (for example) is that they set out all this stuff for you, leaving no doubt about what you have to do

I had no idea what to do which is why a training plan is such a boon. It takes all the guesswork out of it. They tell you specifically the target time/distance so all you have to do is run it. Easy peasy. LOL

[Hidden in reply to misswobble]

Mine didn't have any intervals, just massive jumps in distance that I thought were beyond me and possibly dangerous..4.8K to 7.2K, next jump was 9.8k..too much I felt.

[AncientMum Graduate]

Perhaps you could try the speed podcast twice? Errr... I'll get my coat!

[moger Graduate]

do the speed podcast or some fartlek s run between lampposts choose the space 1 or 2,3 warm up first then run to first recover to the next one then run again choose how many you want to do

[Hidden in reply to moger]

Thanks, it's the choosing that has me worried! Don't want to over or under do it!

[moger Graduate]

runnersworld.com/race-train...

[Hidden in reply to moger]

Brilliant! If only I knew the Pledge of Alleigence lol! Maybe I could sing the National Anthem...

[moger Graduate in reply to moger]

just do a tempo run warm up tempo should be uncomfortable but not so you can breath

[Hidden]

all i am doing is 2:1 run(fast or tempo i guess) and walk but looking at changing that to run/jog or increase the run time and reduce the walk ,

Interesting answers though

[Bazza1234 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Slow Rob

Much of my training involves some walking periods - for example , using the Jack Daniels plan , I do 30 minutes of 6/1 , the run segments being at approx 5K race pace and 30 minutes of 4/1. This happens on two days per week - then I do a non- stop slow 5K and a long run (up to 10K) on two other days. The long run I do at varying ratios 2/1,3/1,4/1 - depending on mood .

However - this morning , as part of my 5k slow non-stop run , I had to tack on 6 "strides" - these are 30sec/1minute run/jogs. The jog part I have been walking up until now, but this morning, instead of walking, I did the jogging as I was supposed to do. It seemed to go OK for me - my HR took longer to come down from the run - but anyhow, I have decided that form now on I am going to eliminate the "walks" from the run/walk and replace them with jogs This will effectively mean that I will be running non-stop from now on - but the jogging part of the run will be at a pace not much faster than my walk pace - I walk at around 9:30 per Klm and a slow jog is for me ( depending on distance ) about 8:30 per k. The run part can be anything from 6:00 per k to 7:00 per k.

[Hidden in reply to Bazza1234]

Thanks Bazza that sounds like just the thing to try

[Bazza1234 Graduate]

"Interval training" is a poorly used term and can mean many things to different people. In essence , the "interval" in interval training is the rest between the work phases - so even tempo repeats are a form of interval training.

My understanding is that "tempo" pace is a pace just slightly slower than your 5K race pace. It is slower because it is a training pace and not a race pace. race pace should be the very fastest pace that you can run the full distance of the race. Hence you can do a tempo run for a given period of time -- say 20-30 minutes. or you can do mile or klm repeats at tempo pace or any other time repeats ( say 6 minute repeats) at tempo pace. This pace is meant to be "comfortably hard" - hard because it is almost 5k race pace and comfortable because you are meant to be able to finish the full 5K at that pace. Interval training as it is probably most commonly used is shorter periods of more intense running with longer rest periods in between - so the pace for a short interval could be a minute faster than your 5K race pace.

So - for me - whose current 5K time is around 34 minutes (has been faster last year but it is too hot here right now) , my tempo training pace is around 7:05 per K , my interval pace is around 6:00 per k and my slow easy pace is 8-8:15 per K .