Workout of the Day: 2 x ( 4 x 150m )
2 x ( 4 x 150m )
Intensity — 400m pace
Recovery — 2-3 minutes walk/jog after each 150m rep, 5-8 minutes recovery between sets
Exertion — 9/10
Context & Details
Conventional wisdom once thought an even paced or negative split approach was the best way to succeed in the 800m. But the training and results of modern 1/2 milers have convincingly proven otherwise.
The 800m event is now a speed-endurance race. With a priority on the speed first, the endurance second. But usually the limiting factor to event success is an athlete’s ability to endure 800m specific speeds for 2 minutes. Speed-Endurance workouts, like 2 x (4 x 150m), not slow longer runs of 10 miles at sub-maximal speeds, will foster significant event specific improvement.
Speed-Endurance work advances several performance variables such as neuromuscular output, lactate-threshold velocity, running economy, and resistance to fatigue.
Two sets of 4 x150m at 400m pace is a tough session. The high velocities of running and the power demands make it a highly effective session for upgrading a 1/2 milers’ ability to run at 800m competitive speeds with minimal deceleration.
The first two 150s in each set will be the easiest/fastest. The body is fresh and not flushed with excessive lactate escaping into the bloodstream on these reps. It’s the work performed on the 3rd and 4th reps where the desired training stimulus of this session occurs. The price the runner pays is a not so pleasant experience.
Sessions like this flush the body with extremely high level of acidosis (lactate turned into acid in the bloodstream) and heavy legs and a high desire to slow down results after 7 seconds into the rep. You’ve been forewarned. Be ready. It’s only 7-10 seconds of discomfort, but the adaptation is worth the pain.
This session is best employed as a “staple workout” year round for the 800m runner, once about every 7-10 days. The initial exposures can be 3 - 4 x 150m and once that has been stabilized, workout volume can be systematically extended to 4 x (2 x 150m). That’s the upper limit of workout volume, don’t exceed it. Doing so results in more risk of overtraining than fitness improvement. Instead, focus on the big picture of doing this session once a week for 3 - 6 months. This will result in significant advancements in 800m performance ability.
During the workout, the aim is to maintain similar velocities on every 150m rep with as little recovery between reps as possible. Advancement in this type of session is measured first by shortening the rest intervals, then increasing the speed of the 150s. The shortening rest is what advances the endurance element.
To get better at the 800m, a key focal point of training is to increase speed and relative comfort at 400m speeds — 1,800m worth of 400m pace work in a dense format like 2 x (4 x 150m) more than gets the job done.