Workout of the Day: 240m, 220m, 200m, 180m, 160m, 140m, 120m, 100m, 80m
240m, 220m, 200m, 180m, 160m, 140m, 120m, 100m, 80m
Intensity — Faster than 400m pace
Recovery — 3 minutes walk/jog after each rep
Exertion — 9/10
Context & Details
In 800m foot races, speed is what physically matters most. But that speed needs to be sustained for 2 laps
Speed is a relative term, it exists on a spectrum. There is maximum speed, speed-endurance, power, stamina (endurance-speed), and then pure endurance.
In 800m races, the primary training concerns are developing max speed, speed-endurance, and power. This session fosters upgrades primarily in speed-endurance, but also lactate-threshold velocities specific to the 800m pace.
The rule with cutdown is to decrease the rep length and increase speed.
The hardest reps on this workout will be from 140m and down. This is when peripheral and central nervous system fatigue are starting to accelerate. Most 800m runners don’t make it to the final 80m rep on the first attempt of this session. Many end up puking before then due to the elevated levels of acidosis which are experienced.
That’s OK.
Remember, as Lydiard knew, when it comes to training, what really matters is whether the athlete is accomplishing the desired training effect with the appropriate level of effort. Too often we think successful workouts are only workouts where the athlete completes what was on the schedule. But as Cerutty wisely pointed out, “It’s the athlete who makes the schedule, never the schedule that makes the athlete.”
I like this as a pre-season and early season session performed once every 21 days. Keep the recovery intervals the same every time, but look to see faster speeds run upon each revisit as the half miler advances in fitness.