4 x (600m, 500m, 400m, 300m, 200m)
4 x (600m, 500m, 400m, 300m, 200m)
Designed for 5,000m runners
Intensity
600m @ 104% of Goal 5K pace
500m @ 105.5% of Goal 5K pace
400m @ 106.5% of Goal 5K pace
300m @ 109% of Goal 5K pace
200m @ 113% of Goal 5K pace
Recovery
90 seconds after each rep
5 minutes between sets
Exertion
7/10
Periodization
Performance Period, Stabilization Block
Context & Details
Today’s session is a page out of the Renato Canova book. It’s a session Imane Merga ran 3 weeks before taking 3rd place in the 10,000m & 5,000m (DQ’d) at the 2011 IAAF track & field world championships.
Canova believes overemphasis on Lydioard’s base phase has slowed the progress of runners in certain pockets of the world. So you won’t see moderate-paced tempo runs or slow long runs in his training programs.
Instead, Canova’s programs start with short speed and strength as the foundation with the purpose of training to extend the ability to run at desired speeds.
This workout, happing in the Performance period, represents a return to those first principles of speed and strength for 5K runners. By this time in the program, the 5K runner has endured many long workouts emphasizing specific paces on hyper short recovery intervals designed to extend their ability to produce and sustain goal 5K pace — making this more of a maintenance workout than a stimulation (stressful) workout.
For Canova, training becomes very mathematical in the final stages. The purpose of workouts in the Specific and Performance periods of training is the teach the runner to produce and sustain specific paces. Success is measured by hitting the prescribed paces — no faster, no slower.
Training paces can be read as either “104% of 5K goal pace” or “4% faster than 5K goal pace.”
To calculate the split, multiply the runner’s goal race pace time per 400m, I’ll use 72”/400m, by the percent increase, 4%, 72” x 0.04 = 2.88”.
Then subtract that number, 2.88”, from the goal pace to determine the pace for the rep: 72” - 2.88” = 69.12”.
The relationship between the rep paces and recovery intervals in this session is worth noting.
For a 5K runner in Performance fitness, the recovery intervals of 90 seconds and 5 minutes are intended to be not too long, not too short, but just right.
What’s just right?
Since stabilization is the theme of this training block, the desired training effect is a reinforcement of Aerobic Power (the ability of the muscles to use oxygen received from the heart and lungs to produce energy) by running shorter reps at 4% - 13% faster than goal 5K pace but without generating an excessive amount of fatigue, either metabolic or neurological. To accomplish this the work:rest ratio between reps in a set is kept between 1:1 to 1:3 and 5 minutes between sets to ensure the runner is always 90%+ recovered going into the next segment of work.
Continue Learning
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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