Though I have been running long distances since 2002 and have run 31 marathons including 4 ultra marathons I have never done interval training before. Interval training is considered one of the key training techniques to help improve running speed(others being tempo run and fartlek). As part of the changes towards improvement this new running season I decided to take up interval training and try and do it once a week. In my first attempt I set myself a goal of doing 4 intervals of 1.2Km each in 5:15 each last Tuesday ie 10th May. However, by the time I warmed up and started the 1st interval run I downgraded this to 1Km intervals at 4:30 pace. It was a struggle to do even this. With great difficulty I managed intervals of 4:24,4:31,4:23 and 4:34 and felt quite exhausted at the end. As a result I realised that attempting 1Km intervals straigh away without doing shorter intervals was a mistake. It is advisable to start with intervals of 400m , then 800m and so on. Anyway, having started with 1Km intervals I hope to continue it for a few weeks and see how it goes.
I complemented the interval training with two decent tempo runs - a 10Km in 49:30 and a 16Km in under 1:19. Specially happy with the latter as I started running late (7:15am) after a dinner party the previous night and still managed to keep an average pace of 4:56 for the run. I felt quite good at the end of the run - almost like I could have continued to do a sub 1:45 HM!!
1 comment:
Interval Training is the most exhausting. So you are expected to feel pooped. In fact it isn't unusual for people to end up retching after a bout of interval training. In the US, most runners usually use Tue evenings (and so did I) for interval workouts, since that ensures maximum amount of rest after Sunday morning's Long Run. There is also the principle that our body is not exactly geared up to run fast in the morning (discussed in some RW article). So running in the evening is better. More when we meet
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