I hear about all kinds of crazy interval training plans and they sound like you would have to be a pro or have a lot of time on your hands to complete them. I have one that I started using to help people improve on the Army Physical Fitness Test about five years ago. I also used it as the initial speed training for a group of colleagues who were running their first marathon before they progressed on to mile repeats. I have continued to use it myself as a tune up for 5k races and when I want to get to the track but don’t have a ton of time.
I promise its not rocket science and is an interpretation of things I have read over the years so I am not just making this up! It did help me get down to an 11:50 on the 2-mile and helped 4 of my colleagues run a 2-mile PR WHILE we were in Afghanistan! You can always do another combination of this for longer runs as well, again this is a simple beginner plan.
Interval Plan (2×800, 4×400)
-Start with an 800 meter warm-up (2 laps) at a light jog (or just run to your track)
-800 meter run (2 laps)
-2 minute break
-800 meter run (2 laps)
-2 minute break
-400 meter run (1 lap)
-1 minute break
-400 meter run (1 lap)
-1 minute break
-400 meter run (1 lap)
-1 minute break
-400 meter run (1 lap)
-800 meter cool down at a light jog
***I use half the time it took me to run the lap as my break. On average that is about 1:30 for the 800’s and 45 sec for the 400’s. My model above looks at someone running approximately an 8-minute mile pace and then resting for the half the time it takes to run. Your ultimate goal is to get to the point where your rest breaks are NO MORE than two minutes between 800’s and one minute between 400’s OR half the time it takes you to run the laps.
If you want to train focused on a specific mile goal pace you can do some math to determine the amount of time for your runs and breaks based on goal pace. (Just don’t forget that 1600m and a mile are not equivalent, 1600m is about 27 feet short of a mile). For example, if you want to run a 7:00 mile pace for a 5k race (and set goals HIGH!) it will look like this:
7/2=3.5 or a 3:30 for the 800m
3.5/2=1.75 or a 1:45 break in between 800s
7/4=1.75 or a 1:45 for the 400
1.75/2=.875 or about 52 second break between 400s
Now all you need is a track, or a GPS watch and something to drop on the ground to mark off your distance. I have done this plenty of times from the streets of Kandahar Airfield to the streets of my neighborhood in Germany. I went three years without consistent access to a track outside of the 1/4 mile track on the boardwalk at Kandahar Airfield and that was when it wasn’t under water during the rainy season. So go for it, track or no track you can do intervals and get faster!!
-Shaina
