Spring is Here - Time for Interval Training!
Spring is here…probably my favorite time to run. Not only is the weather great - except for the occasional spring downpour - but this is the time of year when the local running club I belong to, Rocky Mountain Road Runners, starts doing weekly track workouts.
The group that shows up for track is generally pretty diverse. There’s a pretty broad age range - last week there were high school age kids there, and we’ve also had 60+ year olds show up for workouts. The pace ranges are pretty broad too, from the folks that often place in the top few in their age groups, to the upper-midpackers like me, and sometimes even a few folks that are slower than me. Usually there are at least a couple of people that are about my pace.
The format is pretty similar every week - we start with a few laps of warming up on our own, and then get together for a few drills. Then, the intervals start - this workout varies every week, depending upon what the group leaders have planned. Last week it was 4 x 1000 meters with 200 meters walk/jog recovery after each 400 - this week it’s 1 set of 4 x 800 meters, followed by 1 set of 2 x 400 meters. The total mileage of the intervals varies from about 2.5 miles to 3.25 miles, depending on the week. Finally, we do a couple of slow laps to cool down and stretch a bit.
Although it’s definitely possible to do interval workouts on your own, it isn’t nearly as much fun - the shared suffering makes for good camaraderie. Also, I find that I tend to run a better workout if I have others around that are close to my own pace so we can challenge each other. And, within a few weeks of starting running intervals with the group again, I always feel like my speed and fitness has improved.
How about you - do you do scheduled workouts with a group? What’s your favorite group workout?
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
April 10th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Great blog! You have a lot of great info on here! Thanks for the tips about the interval training on my blog. I’m trying to join a running group right now that will help with that.
April 10th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I used to belong to a running group that had weekly track workouts in the spring/summer. It was intense, but I loved it because I could immediately see the improvement in my speed and running. Now that I have kids, I can’t go anymore and I really miss it! I try to do intervals on my own, but like you said—I’m not very disciplined about it.
April 10th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
@Rachel - Thanks so much! Good luck with your training.
@Workout Mommy - I know, it is difficult to find the motivation to do hard workouts on your own.
April 11th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
I am NOT a fan of interval training, however, I firmly believe that it can seriously improve your running. My group, see mommy run, in my town has expanded over night to at least 5 runners and we are making plans for interval training at least once per week. Although, it will be on city streets, not a track… Have you read Marathon Woman? She talks a lot about how intervals twice per week got her a 2:51 marathon!
April 11th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
@Rachel M - it definitely can improve your running - I hope your group interval training sessions work out - you’ll find it really helpful, and much more enjoyable than doing it alone.
I haven’t read Marathon Woman - I’ll have to check that out!