10 x 200m + 10 x 30" Hills
10 x 200m + 10 x 30" Hills
Designed for 26.2 runners
Intensity
200m at 3K pace
10” Hills at 3K effort
Recovery
2 minutes walk/jogging as desired
Exertion
7/10
Periodization
General Period
Context & Details
This was a staple workout controversial, and now banned, coach Alberto Salazar used for decades with his Oregon Project runners.
Jerry Schumacher uses it, as does Dathan Ritzenhein with his OAC runners, as well as countless other Portland-area high school and college programs.
It’s a simple workout that can benefit all runners in the early periods of their training program — and for marathoners, it can help supercharge their marathon training.
Here’s why it’s an effective early-season workout:
The 200s at 3K pace hit both physiological and neurological sweet spots. When runners are starting up after a break there is a decline in overall fitness. The brain, body, and metabolism have all atrophied during a no-training recuperation period. Performing 200s at 3K pace provides a high-grade stimulus for the metabolism, puts a healthy mechanical demand on the body, and jumpstarts the brain’s muscle coordination patterns.
Runners who neglect faster running while amassing high volumes of slow miles often feel sluggish or uncoordinated initially when they reinsert speedwork back into their training. The reason being is their brain is deconditioned to firing, stabilizing, and moving their limbs at high speeds. A handful of 100m strides or 200s at 3K pace performed regularly helps retains this vital coordination.
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Repeat hill runs under 60” are deemed “Short Hills” while beyond 60” are called “Long Hills.”
Short hills are great for advancing power and running speed as they are linked with higher neural outputs, greater motor-unit recruitment, and advanced power output by the legs. Whereas, long hills are excellent for promotion of fatigue resistance.
Due to the added resistance of the incline, repeat hills also target higher overall strength gains than running on a flat track. The incline of the hill forces the foot to hit the ground slightly earlier in the stride cycle, which dampens the elastic return capacity of the foot and leg. This in turn puts a higher demand on the leg muscles to recruit more muscle fibers to sustain running speed up the hill.
The old-timers were right, repeat short hills are an excellent running-specific strength-building exercise.
And it’s why marathoners benefit so much from this workout early in their training preparations: the 200s get the body and brain coordinated while the 30” hills develop leg strength and muscle recruitment necessary to sustain weeks of high mileage and long runs needed to run 26.2 miles.
Any questions? Direct Message me on twitter.
Thx. | jm
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3 Good Books on Marathon training
Advanced Marathoning by Peter Pfitzinger
From Last to First by Charlie Spedding
Endurance Training: Science and Practice edited by Iñigo Mujika