15 x 400m, 4 x 200m
15 x 400m, 4 x 200m
Designed for 5,000m runners
Intensity
400m @ 105% of 5K
200m fast
Recovery
100m after each rep
Exertion
9/10
Periodization
Specific Period, Extension Block
Context & Details
It is critically important to boost maximal running speed, VO₂ Max, lactate-threshold velocity, and running economy in order for runners to reach their highest levels of 5K performance.
Traditionally, coaches have used repeat 1 Mile reps at 5K Goal Pace with 400m jog recovery as a go-to 5K workout to foster these upgrades.
I prefer 400m repeats at roughly 5% faster than 5K Goal Race pace with very short recovery (40” - 20”) intervals.
Here’s why:
In 1997, researchers Charles Babineau and Luc Leger of the University of Moncton and the University of Montreal published a paper titled Physiological Response of 5/1 Intermittent Aerobic Exercise and its Relationship to 5 km Endurance Performance which looked at three types of interval workouts for 5K runners and their impact on race-specific physiological improvements. The workouts were 3 x 1600m with 60” recovery, 6 x 800m with 30” recovery, and 12 x 400m with 15” recovery.
Babineau and Leger found that lactate levels were significantly higher during the 400m workout compared to both the 800m and 1,600m sessions. In fact, blood lactate concentrations during the 400-meter interval workout were the closest to those in a real 5K race. High lactate levels are a potent stimulus for the improvement of lactate-threshold running velocity which in turn is an excellent physiological predictor of 5K success.
Additionally, the runners were able to run 4% faster for the 400m reps than 1,600m reps. Production of faster runner speeds allows for greater improvements in muscular strength, neuromuscular output as well as running economy — all are important performance variables that influence 5K running success.
There are two key dependencies to this workout construction to foster the desired physiological upgrades:
Each 400-meter rep is completed as fast as reasonably possible — roughly 5% faster than Goal 5K Pace
Keep the rest intervals between each 400m reps as short as possible without comprising the 400m rep pace
Today’s session is very similar to University of Colorado coach Mark Wetmore’s 10 x 500m workout for 5K runners. But with a slight twist — the inclusion of 4 x 200m “fast” to conclude the workout.
“Fast” is a relative distinction and in this situation will be gaged by effort rather than time, as the runner will be fatigued and combating very high lactate levels by this point in the workout. These 200s are not considered “Speed” work but Speed-Endurance work — where the aim is to teach the body to produce as much force as possible in a fatigued state, as will be the case in the final 400m “kick” of the 5K.
This addition of the 200m reps is only introduced after the runner has already successfully performed 15 x 400m workout about 2 - 4 times and will usually first happen in the Specific Period as the workouts start becoming increasingly complex by more closely mimicking the demands of race day.
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Good books on 5,000m training
Fast 5K — 25 Crucial Keys & 4 Training Plans by Pete Magill
Train Hard, Win Easy: The Kenyan Way by Toby Tanser
The Five and Ten Men: 10 Men Who Redefined Distance Running by Richard Amery
Middle Distance Running by Percy Cerutty