2 x 3K, 3 x 2K, 6 x 1,000m
2 x 3K, 3 x 2K, 6 x 1,000m
Intensity — 3Ks @ 15K pace, 2Ks @ 10K pace, 1Ks @ 8K - 5K pace
Recovery — 400m easy jog between each rep and sets
Exertion — 9/10
Training Period, Training Block — Specific Period, Stabilization Block
Context & Details
A key update to Workout of the Days is the inclusion of the Traning Period & Training Block. Knowing what to do and why but not when to do it shifts training from an organized process and devolves it into a chaotic sequence of activities and rest intervals.
To understand the training Periods and Blocks I use to organize my training read my Coaching Better Blog post-5-Part series: How to Develop as a Great Coach — Have a Plan.
For the 1/2 marathoner, the most important biomotor quality to advance is their stamina — or ability to resist fatigue at a target race pace. Additionally, their speed and strength need to be developed, as these two qualities will combine to improve their power output to sustain the desired race pace. In other words, a competitive half-marathoner needs a highly developed work capacity at a very specific threshold of intensity to be successful over 13.1 miles of racing.
A key preparation outcome in the Specific Period of training is to start the process of upgrading the Stamina capabilities of the 1/2 Marathon runner which will be fully realized in the following Performance Period. To accomplish, at first, entails a lot of shorter, and densely situated reps at FASTER than 1/2 Marathon speed in the Specific Period.
As I detail in this post: Initially subjecting the runner to paces slightly faster than the target Goal Pace will make the runner better over the long target race distance. The effect of shorter repeated exposures to faster than Goal Race Pace will eventually result in Goal Race Pace feeling more manageable for a longer duration on race day.
Keep in mind, in the Performance Period, the rep length of stamina workouts will be extended and recovery intervals shorten. When that happens the pace of the workout will be slightly less intense (15K - 1/2 Marathon paces) than it is here (5K - 15K paces) because workout rep length will be 4 - 9 miles of continuous running and it would not be sustainable to maintain the current intensity of paces while also significantly increasing rep duration.
Remember, on the Speed-Duration continuum as you move towards increasing one quality the other quality must be reduced.
Additionally, this workout also provides significant upgrades to Running Economy (a key performance variable defined as the oxygen cost of running at a specific speed), Velocity at Lactate Threshold, and Resistance to Fatigue since the overall load (volume, velocity, and density) and stress of the session is very high.
This is a session that would be followed by 1-2 easy days of restorative training activity, with perhaps one of those days being a complete day of rest.
I would recommend only repeating this session twice in the defined training period and block perhaps one week to 12 days apart.