Beginners and Beyond

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Question About 5k Training (Read 110 times)

LRB


    I recently came across a 5k workout that consists of 3 X 1600 meters at 5k race pace, with 200 meter recoveries.  Of all of the 5k workouts I have seen in my short time running, that one was a new one for me.

     

    This thread is not meant to flame anyone's training methods, but out of curiousity, has anyone ever done such a workout and if so, what do/did you think of it?  Also, what are some of your favorite 5k workouts?

     

    Last year, I incorporated 5 X 1000's at "I" pace (interval) into my training in the weeks before a 5k, which actually worked well for me.

     

    Thanks

    StartingOver42


    faster than a glacier

      I don't know anything about anything, but that seems like a long way to run at "race pace" for 1 workout, even with the small breaks in between.   Aren't you basically running the race in practice?

       

      I'll be curious to see what more experienced runners think of this, it seems to be counter to most of the training advice I see here. But maybe I'm way off, I'm just a beginner

      cmb4314


        I recently came across a 5k workout that consists of 3 X 1600 meters at 5k race pace, with 200 meter recoveries.  Of all of the 5k workouts I have seen in my short time running, that one was a new one for me.

         

        This thread is not meant to flame anyone's training methods, but out of curiousity, has anyone ever done such a workout and if so, what do/did you think of it?  Also, what are some of your favorite 5k workouts?

         

        Last year, I incorporated 5 X 1000's at "I" pace (interval) into my training in the weeks before a 5k, which actually worked well for me.

         

        Thanks

         

        I could be very wrong, but here is how I look at it for myself:

         

        Running at 5K pace is VO2max work.  VO2max intervals are supposed to be 3-5 minutes long.  1600m @ 5k pace is going to take me the better part 8 minutes.  So, 1600s for me, at that pace, are too long for me to be getting the intended effects of the workout.  I think each interval would take too much out of me, running for that duration with that level of exertion, such that there is no way I'd recover well enough for the others.

        My wildly inconsistent PRs:

        5k: 24:36 (10/20/12)  

        10k: 52:01 (4/28/12)  

        HM: 1:50:09 (10/27/12)

        Marathon: 4:19:11 (10/2/2011) 

          I recently came across a 5k workout that consists of 3 X 1600 meters at 5k race pace, with 200 meter recoveries.  Of all of the 5k workouts I have seen in my short time running, that one was a new one for me.

           

          This thread is not meant to flame anyone's training methods, but out of curiousity, has anyone ever done such a workout and if so, what do/did you think of it?  Also, what are some of your favorite 5k workouts?

           

          Last year, I incorporated 5 X 1000's at "I" pace (interval) into my training in the weeks before a 5k, which actually worked well for me.

           

          Thanks

          how close to the goal race is this during a schedule?

          ”Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”

          “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.”

           

          Tomas


          Walk-Jogger

            That's a very useful workout for 5k race training, and it will help you get faster and stronger, but it's not for the faint of heart. I run a lot of 1600m repeats, some slower, some faster than 5k race pace, and I feel like they make me faster at ALL race distances.  I run all winter on an indoor track and running longer than 1600m gets boring in a hurry, so I tend to do a lot of 1600's.  For a medium easy workout I do them closer to half-marathon pace, and for an easy workout I slow them down even more. I also run a lot of 800m, 400m, 200m, and some 2000m, 3200m repeats, and I also do 5k time trials and 5k repeats at times, at 1-2 minutes slower than 5k race pace.

             

            Strict, by the book VO2 max workouts are fine, but VO2 max is not the end-all, be-all of running. 1600m repeats are a bit longer for most of us than a decent VO2 max length run of up to 5 minutes, but for me, 1600m is basically a mile, and every race I run of a mile or longer, I mentally break up into 1 mile chunks, so training in 1600m intervals seems logical to my mind.

             

            Similarly to this workout, one of the very best workouts to do for 10K training is to do 3x2 mile repeats at 10K race pace. Of course, this has to be worked up to gradually, and you start out by doing 1 mile repeats first. Again, not for the faint of heart. It's going to make you hurt...

            Retired &  Loving It

            LRB


              how close to the goal race is this during a schedule?

               

              From the particular runner that suggested them, 6 weeks out, 4 weeks out, then two weeks out.

               

              CMB, you bring up a good point, I would be doing them a bit faster though but yes, a lot of the workouts in Daniels have adjustments for time for runners who are slower than say a 6 minute mile.  For example, a workout would consist of 3 miles at tempo pace or 15 minutes if it takes you longer than 15 minutes to complete it.

               

              Cecil, thanks for the perspective.  The 3 X 2 mile repeats are in my training plan, as are the 1600 repeats, just not at race pace.  I love your point of how they can help make you not only faster, but stronger.

               

              Love the Half


                This is the kind of workout I think can be useful for a very highly trained runner like Cecil but not for the rest of us.  I wouldn't come close to surviving that kind of stuff.  Maybe it's just me but I like to save racing for racing.

                Short term goal: 17:59 5K

                Mid term goal:  2:54:59 marathon

                Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life.  (I started running at age 45).

                Gustav1


                Fear is a Liar

                  LRB - I've done 3x1600 at a pace between 3k and 5k with 2 minute rests. I like doing 5x1000 at 3k with 90 second rests. Sometimes if a plan calls for a 5k "test race" these interval workouts can make a good substitution - and you save $20 race fee!

                  I'm so vegetarian I don't even eat animal crackers!

                  LRB


                    This is the kind of workout I think can be useful for a very highly trained runner like Cecil but not for the rest of us.  I wouldn't come close to surviving that kind of stuff.  Maybe it's just me but I like to save racing for racing.

                    Ha!  Here was my response when I first saw it suggested:

                     

                    "I don't know if I could do that in training if my life depended on it!"

                     

                    Gus, our 5k's go for $25 to $30, and some even higher!

                    Docket_Rocket


                      I agree with cmb.  And Cecil for that matter.  It is a useful workout but not for everybody.  You would need to be a little advanced to try this one out.

                       

                      I have not trained for a 5K in two years but I remember how much intervals hurt.  I cannot imagine how one would feel after this.  Exhilarated and exhausted at the same time.

                      Damaris

                       

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                      EbonyN


                      MusicofEbony

                        I don't have any advice, but I remember doing that workout for cross country in high school, that is a brutal workout.

                        Formally known on the Runners World forums as Malletgirl02.

                          I recently came across a 5k workout that consists of 3 X 1600 meters at 5k race pace, with 200 meter recoveries. 

                           

                          I wouldn't think of recoveries in terms of distance (200 meters) - I would think time.

                           

                          For me for example, that would probably be 3 x mile with 2 minute (maybe even 2:15) recoveries. Depending on the day, that 2 mins might be 400m, or 350m, but it doesn't matter, it's the recovery time that matters more. As stated in your OP, just "200 meters" reads like awfully short recovery for a very intense workout - so you'd want to be explicit about how long in time those recoveries would be.

                          Come all you no-hopers, you jokers and rogues
                          We're on the road to nowhere, let's find out where it goes
                          LRB


                             

                            I wouldn't think of recoveries in terms of distance (200 meters) - I would think time.

                             

                            For me for example, that would probably be 3 x mile with 2 minute (maybe even 2:15) recoveries. Depending on the day, that 2 mins might be 400m, or 350m, but it doesn't matter, it's the recovery time that matters more. As stated in your OP, just "200 meters" reads like awfully short recovery for a very intense workout - so you'd want to be explicit about how long in time those recoveries would be.

                            Yes, he does them in 1 minute.  But started at 4 minutes then over time dropped to 3, then 2, and now 1. Sick!


                            an amazing likeness

                              It's not the 1600m (mile) repeat that catches my eye, it's the 200m (30 sec at most? considered distance covered while coasting down) recovery.Yikes. That's no recovery.

                               

                              Isn't a workout of 3 x 1600m @5K with short 200m recovery basically a simulation of running a 5K with 3 water stops?

                              Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

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