3 x (400m, 300m, 200m) + 1 x 400m + 3 x 1,000m
3 x (400m, 300m, 200m) + 1 x 400m + 3 x 1,000m
Designed for 1500m runners
Intensity
400s @ 1500m pace, 300s @ 800m pace, 200s @ 400m pace
Final 400m @ All You Got
1Ks @ 10K pace
Recovery
75 seconds between reps in each 400m, 300m, 200m set
5 - 8 minutes between sets
60 seconds between 1K reps
Exertion
8/10
Periodization
Specific Period, Extension Block
Context & Details
This is what I call a “complex” workout. It’s complex because there are several different stimuli the athlete is exposed to throughout the session.
It’s a workout I created for Daniel Herrera, the Mexican national record holder in the 1 Mile and 2x Bring Back the Mile Series Champion, to prepare him for the 2021 outdoor racing season.
There are 3 main stimuli, or themes, in this session:
Aerobic Power — 3 x 400m, 300m, 200m
Finishing Power — 1 x 400m A.U.G.
Aerobic Support — 3 x 1K
When I compose complex workouts, my rule of thumb is the most important stimulus is encountered first, when the athlete is freshest. In this session, the Aerobic Power portion is the highest priority.
You’ll notice the Aerobic Power component is a difficult assignment, but vital competency for the miler. Effective mile training centers around readying the runner to complete the first 1200m at competitive speeds while expending the least amount of energy possible. From an energy system perspective, this would translate to the runner being able to run the first 3 laps in an aerobic state, meaning little to no metabolic waste products spilling out into the bloodstream. This requires extensive conditioning at race pace.
A well-trained miler will interpret the first 1200m at race pace as a non-threatening demand. In order to get to this state, race pace training should progressively extend in duration, density, and volume throughout the training year.
Specifically, this workout is the culmination of months of training designed to prepare Daniel to handle this level of load. Each set is 900m of work. Each rep decreases in duration while progressing in the power (speed) demands, 1500m to 400m pace, while the recovery between reps is short.
The desired adoption from this portion of the workout is the miler will learn to produce a high degree of power aerobically.
This section could have been 3 x 400m @ 1500m pace. However, on race day, the reality experienced by the miler is the lap 2 feels harder than lap 1, and lap 3 feels much harder than lap 2. By increasing the intensity of the proceeding reps in each set, the miler is exposed to that reality, and can callous themselves physiologically to the discomfort they will encounter on race day.
The rest of the session is pretty straightforward. The final 400m at All You Got effort is an attempt to stimulate and familiar the miler with the bell lap. And the repeat 1Ks are at Aerobic Support intensity, meaning the slowest running speed possible which will elicit maintenance of their general aerobic capacity levels.
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Good books on 1500m training
Better Training for Distance Runners by Peter Coe
Winning Running by Peter Coe
Running Science by Own Anderson
Modern Training and Physiology for Middle and Long-Distance Runners by John Davis