Time for some fall interval training
With several major races coming up on
my schedule, making interval training a part of my weekly training
plan is a must. Last week, I ran my first set of 12 x 400 hill
repeats. I repeated the same workout again this week.
Last week, I was still recovering from
my 45 mile long run so my legs were anything but cooperative. Not to
mention, the temperatures was in the low 90s and the humidity just
added to my struggles. But I completed on 12, and I
completed all 12 this week.
This week's set started out only a tad
bit faster but then on the 3rd interval it was like my
legs finally clicked in to the right gear. Suddenly, my splits dropped by an average of 7 to 8 seconds per interval. My legs just
felt easier running.
Typically, once I move over to interval
training the first couple of weeks are so, so. Then, I go through a
few weeks where I make steady gains. Then, somewhere about 6 to 8
weeks into the cycle, my gains stabilize. After 8 weeks, I might get
another week or two of good running but if I continue running
intervals, I often I find that my times start to fall off.
That's way I always set my my goal race
in the 6 to 8 week window. I might as well capitalize on the my
efforts while they are their peak for the current training period.
The Cool Down Runner
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