Well done on finding your way to the sesh that separates the runners from the joggers and gets you moving at your absolute best!
When, where & why?
630AM every Wednesday in all weather conditions! Meet in front of the public toilets on Baronga Avenue in Queens Park.
This run is a little different from our usual trots. In true 80/20 form, three of our club runs are at a more comfortable pace with this one hitting those high intensity notes. While chiller routes are an awesome way to build your aerobic base and get into good habits, if you wanna run faster, you actually have to run faster! Put into practice, interval running gets your fast twitch muscles firing, improves running form and trains your heart rate to recover quicker.
How does the sesh work?
Pick a speed that matches your current level of fitness and one that you’ll be able to keep up for the entire session. To work it out, take your 5K PB pace and aim for about 5% quicker. Generally an 8 on the RPE scale will do it.
You’ll run 12 sets that are 400 metres in length. Each set starts with an easy run, then a fast run, then another easy run at the end. The distances of each set are what changes. For example:
Set 1: Easy 75M – Fast 250M – Easy 75M [x4]
Set 2: Easy 50M – Fast 300M – Easy 50M [x4]
Set 3: Easy 25M – Fast 350M – Easy 25M [x4]
As you can see the fast parts get longer and the easy parts get shorter which is why we recommend an 8 effort rather than an all-out sprint. If done correctly, your speed during the fast parts will be the same for all distances and after the final set your tank will be empty but your endorphins will be full!
Judging speed is tricky. How do I do it?
Even if you know your goal pace for the speed sections, it’s hard to know if you’re actually running it. Your GPS watch might lag behind, struggle when you go around a corner or under/over measure, meaning your actual pace will be different to what your watch is telling you. The distances at Queens Park are marked out using a measuring wheel so they are bang on each week.
Here’s a table where you can convert your speed into a time between sections. For example, if you want to run a 4MIN/KM pace on the fast section, you’ll need to do the 250M reps in 60 seconds.
| GOAL PACE | 250M TIME [SECONDS] | 300M TIME [SECONDS] | 350M TIME [SECONDS] |
| 3:00/KM | 45 | 54 | 63 |
| 3:20/KM | 50 | 60 | 70 |
| 3:40/KM | 55 | 66 | 77 |
| 4:00/KM | 60 | 72 | 84 |
| 4:20/KM | 65 | 78 | 91 |
| 4:40/KM | 70 | 84 | 98 |
| 5:00/KM | 75 | 90 | 105 |
| 5:20/KM | 80 | 96 | 112 |
| 5:40/KM | 85 | 102 | 119 |
| 6:00/KM | 90 | 108 | 126 |
Using this table and the lap feature on your watch, you’ll be able to see if you’re within your goal pace. To keep yourself on track, look at your time on the first fast section, remember that effort level, then try repeat it for the remaining 11 sections. If you see you’ve drifted by a few seconds on one, then you know to go a little quicker next time.
What are the mistakes people make?
Finding your optimal fast pace and sustainable threshold isn’t easy. It’s very common to go out too hard on the first set, which is a nice and short 250M, but then struggle to maintain it for the 300M and 350M sections. If you haven’t done speed sessions before, knowing your number on the RPE scale will be a mystery! So give yourself the breathing space to test out what works for you.
Often people don’t go slow enough in the easy sections which can really impact the quality of the speed portions [the important parts!]. This is your chance to get your heart rate and breathing back down so take it nice and chilled. Jog slowly or even walk, but just don’t stop moving. Remember, your overall times are irrelevant, the key component of this session is the fast part.
What does a good sesh look like?
Below is what we would call a successful session. You can see the pace is fairly consistent across all 12 intervals and drops off slightly in the last two because the body gave everything it had! You can also see the recovery portions got slower as the session went on, allowing for an extra couple of seconds before taking off again.
There is a good gap here between the fast [around 3:40/K] and easy [around 6:00-8:00/K] sections which provided just enough time to get the breath back in order to keep the quality of the speed parts consistent.
Yay, you made it this far!
Well done! Safe to assume we’ll see you at our next Wednesday morning sesh?!
If you’re feeling overwhelmed [we get it, we’re still confused too], don’t fret. The Lead will go through EVERYTHING before the sesh.
And at the end of the day [or at least the morning?], we run on a flat, out-and-back 400M footpath with plenty of signs telling us what we need to do. It’s as simple as that!