For this week’s reps, I am proposing two options to choose from, depending on how much time you want/can spend! Regardless of which session you choose, remember to warmup 10-20 minutes and do some dynamic stretching with at least 5-8 strides to get the legs turning.
Option I: the 5-3-1
a) Run 5 minutes at HM pace with 2.5 minutes recovery jog
b) Run 3 minutes at 10K pace with 1.5 minutes recovery jog
c) Run 1 minute at 5k pace with 3 minutes recovery jog
BONUS: Run 3x30s at 400m pace with 1 minute recovery
The set is roughly 20 minutes long. Don’t get obsessed about your pace, base your run on effort. Ideally, you want the 5′ run to be just before your lactate threshold i.e. fast but manageable, your 3′ run just into the lactate threshold i.e. feeling the effort, and your 1′ run well within the lactate threshold and towards your VO2 max i.e hard breathing.
If at the end of this set, and after you fully recover (3-5 minutes jog), you feel like you want/need more, you may repeat!
Option II: Dave E’s microreps
Run 15s, static recovery for 15s, 20 minutes in total. This is a very simple yet hard session, especially from a mental point of view, as the total is 40 reps. Pace should remain the same throughout (ideally faster than 5k) so don’t go out sprinting! If you are having trouble breathing, you may decide to extend your static recovery to 1′ in the middle of the session, but not longer.
Enjoy and let us know how you got on!