What is an interval Run?

intervals are ran on a 1/4 mile track. what you do is run a 1/4mile at about 25% faster than you normally run a 1/4mile on a 3mile or something run.. 30second rest, then run another.. you run intervals to build your mile times. the rest might be longer, but I can't remember... but that's the jist of it.<p>--> they're also done just once a week. usually on fridays so you have the weekend to recover.

Thanks for the replay? About how many 1/4 intervals do you run in a workout.

I think you run the distance of the next eval...

Interval Workouts --<p>WARNING: Always warm up and stretch. Sprinting puts a different stress on your body than jogging.<p>BASIC:<p>Warm up on the track, THEN
sprint one straight away and jog the other 330.<p>If this provides no challenge for you, transition into
sprint each "straight away" and then jog the curves slow enough to recover<p>ADVANCED:<p>jog 1 mile on track
1/4 mile sprint (FAST), 1/4 mile jog
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1/8 mile sprint (FAST), 1/8 jog
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jog 1 mile to cool down<p>This is a 4-mile workout! Tailor to suit your needs.<p>In school I'd break my 1.5 mile run into 12 220s and sprint each with a little rest between each sprint. I would then decrease my rest time and before long I could run the 1.5 pretty fast -- try it!<p>It works over the long haul - not overnight - take the next day off and expect sore muscles. Your next run should be long and slow.

Intervals, by definition, are bursts of increased speed followed by a short recovery time. In performing intervals, you are not limited to any specific distance, and you do not have to run on a track. It depends on your goals -- if you are training to improve your 10K time, half mile or mile intervals would be appropriate.
If your goal is to improve your 1.5 mile time, concentrate on 400m and 200m intervals, followed by a 200m recovery jog.
I was a miler in HS and we routinely did 12X400m intervals -- they were a great help in increasing sustained speed.

Thanks for the replys and info.

One word of caution: Interval training stresses the body beyond your aerobic threshold while taxing muscle, tendon, and bone; the body will adapt to this stress over time. However, with intervals the potential for injury increases exponentially. I suggest focusing on base milage for a couple months before getting into a rigerous interval program. When you do start intervals (what ever the distance) you will cause pain - if you are doing it right. Remember to ask yourself, "Does this hurt or am I injured", there is a difference. An injury is cronic pain that won't go away after a couple days off.

When I ran track we done about a 2 mile run, then we done intervals on hills (up and down). Then we would run another 2 miles back to the track and do 1.5 miles in 1/4 mile intervals with 30 seconds rest. I and a friend were the only two guys who done it. The "coach" (some woman no one knew) would yell at us if our 1/4 mile was under 1:25. That is pretty hard to do after running, normally, 6 miles, in the middle of winter. Is that pretty good timing in your opinion? I know for sure that "coach" couldn't have ran that.

75's are pretty good quarters, reguardless of the fatigue level. However, I'm more impressed with the 30 second recovery. Trust me 30 seconds isn't long when you are out of oxygen and your legs are swimming in lactic acid. Bottom line here is: how well did you race on that training regime? You do intervals to teach your body how to deal with lactic acid. During your intervals, the time spent recovering is equally as important as the time spent in exertion. If you are training for a 10K, ideally you would run a 10k everyday at race pace. As competitive runners (if you are reading this I am assuming you are competitive), we all know our bodies would last about 3 days under that kind of stress; therefore, we scientifically manage the time we spend in recovery. I was a mid-distance runner in college, if I was getting ready for a major 5k I would run a continuous 5k with little breaks thrown in at predetermined stages. ie.,
First 1600 race pace (4:35) next 200 in 45sec;
next 800 race pace (2:17) next 200 in 45sec;
next 800 race pace (2:17) next 400 in 90sec;
Last 1000 in what ever you had left...(usually not much).

The idea of the workout was to teach the body to deal with lactic acid...

Another fun one was run 1600 all out (4:20's), 1 minute recovery then a 6 mile run at 80%.

Good luck
Capt Laymon
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4:20 miles?! daaaaaaammmmnn <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" />

A 4:20 in a workout probably equates to "Meeting the Wizard" besides, those were target times. There was always someone on the team that felt good on any given day and would crank out the time - some days ya had it some ya didn't...we also had a lot of injuries; hindsight, probably left my best race in a workout somewhere.

PWL