RunningAHEAD - Topic: Termanology

posted: 3/18/2008 at 11:25 AM

Good Morning/Afternoon! How's everyone doing? I just had a question. I'm having a hard time learning the terminology of running. This especially came apparent when I was reading the current issue of Runners World. They have an article about how to practice race toward a goal time, and they have this under the 5K section: "I suggest using more palatable distances for 5-K pace intervals: 800, 1000, or 1200 meters. Try 6 to 8 x 800 with 1:1 time recovery; 2 x (1200, 1000, 800) with 1:1 time recovery." What does this all mean!? Haha. The main parts that stick out as a problem for me are: 1. intervals 2. the entire section after the word "try" and 3. what does this mean as a whole. thanks alot!

"Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' It's more than just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative." - prefontaine

Scout7

posted: 3/18/2008 at 11:37 AM

Intervals are a form of higher intensity training. Effectively an "interval" is a mix of higher intensity running and a rest period (which is what the interval actually refers to). What the workout describes is running a series of Higher/easier intensity sets. The 1:1 ratio means the rest should equal the hard part. In other words, you would run 800 meters at your 5k pace, then jog 800 meters, then repeat the process. So in "6-8 x 800", that means 6 to 8 repetitions, with 800 meters being the distance.

autumns_child

posted: 3/18/2008 at 11:40 AM

Quote from Scout7 on 3/18/2008 at 11:37 AM:

Intervals are a form of higher intensity training. Effectively an "interval" is a mix of higher intensity running and a rest period (which is what the interval actually refers to). What the workout describes is running a series of Higher/easier intensity sets. The 1:1 ratio means the rest should equal the hard part. In other words, you would run 800 meters at your 5k pace, then jog 800 meters, then repeat the process. So in "6-8 x 800", that means 6 to 8 repetitions, with 800 meters being the distance.

Okay, I'm beginning to undestand this, but how would I know what 800 metes is unless I'm on a treadmill, and even on that, it is read in miles, not meters? Thanks.

"Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' It's more than just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative." - prefontaine

Scout7

posted: 3/18/2008 at 11:52 AM

Generally, those are track workouts. One lap is 400 meters. So, you generally see those types of workouts laid out for a track. It is entirely possible to do similar stuff on the road. 400 meters is close to a quarter mile, so if you have a trail that is marked off, it can be done. Or with a Garmin or similar device. The trick is, however, that terrain ends up playing a factor, which is one reason why these types of workouts are preferred for the track.

autumns_child

posted: 3/18/2008 at 11:57 AM

Quote from Scout7 on 3/18/2008 at 11:52 AM:

Generally, those are track workouts. One lap is 400 meters. So, you generally see those types of workouts laid out for a track. It is entirely possible to do similar stuff on the road. 400 meters is close to a quarter mile, so if you have a trail that is marked off, it can be done. Or with a Garmin or similar device. The trick is, however, that terrain ends up playing a factor, which is one reason why these types of workouts are preferred for the track.

Oh, I see. Okay. Thanks very much for helping me out with that.

"Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' It's more than just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative." - prefontaine

jeffdonahue

posted: 3/18/2008 at 12:06 PM

Quote from Scout7 on 3/18/2008 at 11:52 AM:

Generally, those are track workouts. One lap is 400 meters. So, you generally see those types of workouts laid out for a track. It is entirely possible to do similar stuff on the road. 400 meters is close to a quarter mile, so if you have a trail that is marked off, it can be done. Or with a Garmin or similar device. The trick is, however, that terrain ends up playing a factor, which is one reason why these types of workouts are preferred for the track.

Aslo, if you are running on the road, you could always use www.mapmyrun.com or the route mapping software on this site (or some other site, there are a bunch of them) to figure out some pre-set distances for your intervals. I personally have a route near my work that has a loop that is almost exactly a mile and the streets mark off exactly quarter miles (or close enough for interval work).

jEfFgObLuE

I've got a fever...

posted: 3/18/2008 at 12:18 PM

Quote from Scout7 on 3/18/2008 at 11:37 AM:

What the workout describes is running a series of Higher/easier intensity sets. The 1:1 ratio means the rest should equal the hard part. In other words, you would run 800 meters at your 5k pace, then jog 800 meters, then repeat the process. So in "6-8 x 800", that means 6 to 8 repetitions, with 800 meters being the distance.

Scout, I think since the workout said 6 to 8 x 800 with 1:1 time recovery, the recovery would be to run for a time equal to the duration of the 800m hard interval, not jog 800m, right?

On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office. But you will wish that you'd spent more time running. Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

autumns_child

posted: 3/18/2008 at 12:22 PM

Quote from jeffdonahue on 3/18/2008 at 12:06 PM:

Aslo, if you are running on the road, you could always use www.mapmyrun.com or the route mapping software on this site (or some other site, there are a bunch of them) to figure out some pre-set distances for your intervals. I personally have a route near my work that has a loop that is almost exactly a mile and the streets mark off exactly quarter miles (or close enough for interval work).

Yeah, I do have routes set up for my runs. i have a perfect 2 mile run near my house. Once I start doing 3 miles more often, I'll begin to find a ways to break it up into intervals.

"Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' It's more than just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative." - prefontaine

Scout7

posted: 3/18/2008 at 1:39 PM

Quote from jEfFgObLuE on 3/18/2008 at 12:18 PM:

Scout, I think since the workout said 6 to 8 x 800 with 1:1 time recovery, the recovery would be to run for a time equal to the duration of the 800m hard interval, not jog 800m, right?

Yeah, you're probably right. I hate when they do that.

slowgino

posted: 3/18/2008 at 2:37 PM

Quote from autumns_child on 3/18/2008 at 11:40 AM:

Okay, I'm beginning to undestand this, but how would I know what 800 metes is unless I'm on a treadmill, and even on that, it is read in miles, not meters? Thanks.

800 meters is about 1/2 mile. An easy way to do intervals if you don't have a track or measured distance is to do them by time. This makes sense since you are watching time anyway for recovery (in your example.) If you really want to figure the time it will take to run 800 m, just go somewhere (track?) where you can run a measured distance, then figure your pace from that and that will tell you about how long 800 m will take at that effort level. Or, just go by time.. as in - run 4 minutes, easy recovery jog 4 minutes, etc. Another method, suggested by Frank Shorter in his book Running for Peak Performance, is to find a road with some kind of marker/milepost like telephone poles (or whatever) and use those as in - run 10 telephone poles, jog 6 telephone poles - or whatever you choose. If you do have a road with poles at regular intervals, you just have to measure the spacing and then you can adjust the length of your intervals at will.

Thunderthighs

Beatin' on the Rock

posted: 3/18/2008 at 2:43 PM

Quote from slowgino on 3/18/2008 at 2:37 PM:

... find a road with some kind of marker/milepost like telephone poles (or whatever) and use those as in - run 10 telephone poles, jog 6 telephone poles - or whatever you choose.

Wouldn't this be a fartlek? Confused

Be yourself. Those that matter, don't mind. Those that mind, don't matter.

DrewEOB

Lazy idiot

posted: 3/18/2008 at 2:48 PM

Quote from Thunderthighs on 3/18/2008 at 2:43 PM:

Wouldn't this be a fartlek?

Yes(ish).

If the posts are evenly spaced as mentioned, this could be a regular old interval workout. If they're not, it might be closer to a fartlek. There are a lot of terms in running. Some people get really worked up about the minutiae and or terminology, and others don't. Neither way is wrong, in my opinion.

Tick tock

Scout7

posted: 3/18/2008 at 2:50 PM

Quote from Thunderthighs on 3/18/2008 at 2:43 PM:

Wouldn't this be a fartlek?

No, because you're only alternating between two paces. Fartlek runs have multiple paces, and are usually less structured, meaning you hold each pace for a variable period of time.

Run To Win

#2867

posted: 3/18/2008 at 3:00 PM

They covered it pretty well already. I wouldn't worry about distances right now. If you are going to go out and do an interval session, I'd just go out and run fartlek style for time. A fartlek is basically picking up the pace and then slowing down over and over again in a single run (warm up, repeats, cool down) with no actual stopping. The easiest way is to just look ahead, pick a landmark, and pick up the pace 'til you pass it and catch your breathe before picking another landmark. You could time it if you wanted and run x number of minutes rest y number of minutes. If you want to do something roughly equivalent to what runner's world has, then for 800 meters you should run hard for 4:30 minutes, for 1000 meters you should run hard for 6 minutes, and for 1200 meters you should run hard for 7:30 minutes. As long as you are actually running hard/up-tempo, those times will get you pretty close to those distances based on your easy runs in your logs. Here's some more info about interval training you might want to read over: http://news.runtowin.com/2007/05/14/answers-for-the-top-questions-about-interval-training.html

Run to Win
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Termanology (Read 849 times)