Workout of the Day: 4-5 x (600m,200m)
4-5 x (600m,200m)
Intensity — 600m at 1500m pace, 200m at 400m pace
Recovery —30” jog after 600m rep, 3-4 minutes walk/jog between sets
Exertion — 9/10
Context & Details
Training the 1500m can be tricky because of the need to improve both aerobic power and neuromuscular power.
This workout address both these areas. Aerobic power is stressed throughout each rep while neuromuscular power is developed on the 200m rep.
What makes this workout challenging is the fine line is being walked between central and peripheral fatigue. The 600m reps at 1500m create a moderate degree of peripheral fatigue (fatigue of muscles, which results in decrease motor, ie force, output) and the 200s compounds the peripheral fatigue as well as inject central fatigue (brain fatigue).
Remember, since the athlete is not fresh for any of the 200m reps, their absolute expression of speed will be compromised. And in this circumstance that is OK as this session is designed to closely mimic 1500m race conditions. Mile races are typically won or lost on the final 400m. Without an ability to express high enough forces in a state of accelerating peripheral fatigue the miler will be left behind at the bell. This session provides an opprtunity to get familiar with the sensations felt on the final lap so the associating discomfort of PNS and CNS fatigue causes less hesitation on race day.
The coach and runner must be sensitive to how the athlete is responding rep by rep in this session. If times start to deteriorate significantly (4-5+ seconds) in later reps it is best to end the session altogether as that is a signal PNS and CNS has become too great for any further hard running to be of benefit that day.
As the miler improves you can extend the 200m rep incrementally up to a maximum of 300m in length. There is little need to extend the distance of 1500m speed rep before the 200s — its purpose is simply to set up race like conditions before the exercising of one’s kick.
I like this workout once every 10-14 days throughout a track season. Initially it will be tough, but once revisited 3-6 times it can become a maintenance or sharping workout during the peak phase of a track season.