Designing a training plan can feel like ticking off a checklist. Short intervals to boost speed? Check. Tempo runs to raise lactate threshold? Check. Hill repeats to build power? Check. In a race you must roll these components into a single performance, so it’s wise to also include combination workouts to practise changing gears, mentally and physically.
What everyone's reading
Combo runs blend familiar ingredients to create a unique stimulus that forces you to adapt in a slightly different way. Mix short and long intervals on the track with tempo sections on roads or trails, and hill repeats. Make use of your surroundings, try different paces and keep the distance covered consistent with your usual workouts (so if you typically do 6 x 800m, your combo should add up to the same distance). Combo sessions require that you stay alert to adjust to the changing terrain, pace and effort level. Keeping the rests between sections short – no more than a minute – forces you to adjust quickly and practise the focus you need to race well. Try one of the following combos every two weeks.
1/ Accelerator
Run the intervals on a track and the tempos on the road or a trail, with no more than a minute of rest between each.
1,600How to choose between morning and evening runs
1 mile at tempo pace (‘comfortably hard’)
1,200Tips for safe speedwork
1 x 1,200m/3 laps start at 10K pace, get two secs faster each lap; 1 min rest
1 mile at tempo pace 5 x 60-sec hill reps; jog recovery
2/ Cross-country simulator
Cross-country races start and end fast, and require mid-race strength. Coach Matt Centrowitz replicates that effort here.
1,200m (first lap at mile pace, next two 10 secs slower per lap); 1 min rest
1 This is the average 10K finish time
1 mile tempo pace; 1 min rest 1,200m (first two laps 10- 15 secs slower than mile pace, last lap at mile pace)
3/ Prefontaine's progression
This session is adapted from one US legend Steve Prefontaine did in 1975. It mixes track and road and speeds up within each section.
2 x 1,200m/3 laps (start at 10K pace, get two secs faster each lap); 1 min rest
Progression run (3 miles; start easy, speed up so final mile is at half-marathon pace); 1 min rest
5 x 300m (jog 100m between each; start at 10K pace, speed up)
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READ: Interval training: How it works
READ: x 1,200m/3 laps start at 10K pace, get two secs faster each lap; 1 min rest?
