6 x 1200m
6 x 1200m
Designed for 3,000m runners
Intensity
3K pace
Recovery
400m jog in 2 - 3 minutes after each rep
Exertion
8/10
Periodization
Foundation Period, Stabilization Block
Context & Details
Longer repetitions (500m - 2,000m) at the maximal cardiac output, or VO₂ Max, improves three key aspects of aerobic metabolism:
Maximal cardiac output capacity
Improved blood distribution in the body
Efficacy of the rate of glycogen mobilization in muscle
Cardiac muscle is highly aerobic and responds to the stress of longer high-intensity reps similar to how skeletal muscles respond to short, high-intensity workouts — by increasing the number of mitochondria, the number of enzymes with the mitochondria and the capillary density.
Also, heart muscle fibers enlarge when regularly exposed to this type of stress. This leads to an increased capacity, improved chamber emptying, and an increased stroke volume. This training results in the heart being able to pump 2 - 3 times the amount of blood per heartbeat compared to an untrained heart.
Higher intensity training also improves blood distribution in the body during exercise.
Due to the demanding nature of longer reps at 3,000m pace the body is forced to decreased blood flow to “less vital” parts of the body not directly involved in creating locomotion, like the intestines. Ideally, during running athletes wants as much nutrient-rich blood feeding into the tissues under high demand. Our bodies have a limited supply of blood to distribute and the more it can send to tissues being strained by high intensity running the better.
With this in mind, training and racing are best carried out on a near-empty stomach. The sluggish feeling most runners feel when running on a filled stomach is due to less blood available to skeletal muscles because of the blood needs by the intestines for digestion. The largest meal of the day for runners is best placed after the day’s running has been completed.
Finally, longer high-intensity reps increase the number of glycogen that can be stored in the muscles. This improved capacity results in a prolonged duration of force production before glycogen depletion and a slow down in pace occurs.
The frequency of this type of session is best scheduled for once every 7 - 10 days.
While the metabolic improvements gain for this training load are highly desirable, the mechanical load of 4 - 5 miles at high-intensity speeds for a relatively long duration is significant. Most well conditions runners will recovery aerobically within 1 - 2 days from this session, but the quality of their biomechanics may lengthen the recovery their bones, tendons, ligaments, and muscles may need, prolonging the interval between reruns of this workout.
Runners with better biomechanics can perform this type of session more frequently and will be able to successfully progress to higher volumes of load. Whereas runners with less optimal running technique may need to perform shorter rep volume (perhaps 500m to 800m reps) and less global volume (maybe only 2 - 3 miles) within a session as well as take longer recovery intervals between these types of sessions.
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Good books on 3,000m 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