Seems to be pretty damned challenging according to my vdot…Could hold the pace for 200m reps, but was struggling for 400m reps…Do I just need to harden up? heh
Felt like I was going to be sick after my warm down, but feel fantastic now. hah.
Did 3km warm up
6x400 rep pace, then 400m jog
then
8x200 rep pace, then 200m jog
then 3km warm down
quads and calves were screaming a bit on the last few 200m reps.
this is the first time I’ve really done track work for those kinda distances, so I guess it’s prob quite natural to find it challenging huh?
Daniels tends to have some pretty difficult times to hit. Your workout looks like something that would fall under his phase IV plan. If you follow his plans accordingly, you would more than likely be able to hit his times for your rep pace, but he has some pretty hard workouts. Say your vdot is 60, that is 75 for the 400. If you were able to hold that, you would be running in the 15s for a 5K. So don’t stress too much on hitting his exact times.
Say your vdot is 60, that is 75 for the 400. If you were able to hold that, you would be running in the 15s for a 5K. So don’t stress too much on hitting his exact times.
Huh? I think you’re reading the tables wrong.
My VDOT is generally right around 61. My rep pace for 1/4s is about 74 seconds and I run 5ks in the mid-16s, as would be predicted by the VDOT tables.
No one with a VDOT of 60 is running in the 15s for a 5k, and no one running 15s in the 5k would find 75 second quarters challenging.
Is your VDOT calculated from recent race performance as Daniels recommends?
Why are you doing repetition work? Where is your run fitness now and what are your goals? I would focus mostly on getting a quality weekly tempo run in, then 4-5 other runs per week including a weekly long run.
If you insist on doing some faster training, give some interval work or hill repeats a try. But for 99% of people, repetition work isn’t necessary and is asking for injury. You don’t need to train fast to race fast, you just need to be fit.
R pace is pretty advanced & difficult & for runners doing substantial mileage … I also don’t think its used often throughout most 4-6 month programs … I can see using it if you are a 60 mile per week 33 minute 10K guy training to go 32 … Now a 90 minute half marathoner training to PR? R pace if probably not needed …
Say your vdot is 60, that is 75 for the 400. If you were able to hold that, you would be running in the 15s for a 5K. So don’t stress too much on hitting his exact times.
Huh? I think you’re reading the tables wrong.
My VDOT is generally right around 61. My rep pace for 1/4s is about 74 seconds and I run 5ks in the mid-16s, as would be predicted by the VDOT tables.
No one with a VDOT of 60 is running in the 15s for a 5k, and no one running 15s in the 5k would find 75 second quarters challenging.
No, a vdot of 60 has the person doing rep pace at 74 for the 400. A 75 second 400 equals a 15:37 5K. I was relating the equivalent performance, not saying that the op could run that fast. The op stated it was a hard workout, I was letting him know that he was probably right to feel that way as he was running times that are pretty fast.
Is your VDOT calculated from recent race performance as Daniels recommends?
Why are you doing repetition work? Where is your run fitness now and what are your goals? I would focus mostly on getting a quality weekly tempo run in, then 4-5 other runs per week including a weekly long run.
If you insist on doing some faster training, give some interval work or hill repeats a try. But for 99% of people, repetition work isn’t necessary and is asking for injury. You don’t need to train fast to race fast, you just need to be fit.
My VDOT is calculated on past race performance as I haven’t done any races in the last 2 years (aside from 2 triathlons this summer - it’s winter here now - I’m in NZ - those two triathlons were a bit of a disaster) - I guess I might be overestimating my current fitness but my running is starting to come right now based on how I feel in training.
I’m following his cross country plan as I’m doing some trail running races over winter. I’ve just started phase 2 and he has rep work, so I thought I’d give it a crack. I’d rather be doing hills (he says do hills or reps), but don’t have easy access to them during the week and in the dark.
I just thought I’d give it a crack as it’s something I’ve never really tried before, so was really just wanting to see what effect it might have on me.
Old thread now, but thought I’d reply anyway.
I would agree that threshold and interval training are more important than reps, but I have nonetheless given them a shot recently just out of curiosity, and for a bit of variety. It sounds like you are not giving yourself enough recovery time. Daniels reps are done after a full recovery - 2 to 4 times the length of the effort. I do at least 2 mins between 200s, and its mostly walking. 200m jog may not allow a full recovery, meaning you are closer to doing intervals but at rep pace, which would be very tough.