Generally what is your mile repeat pace 6:30, 5:30, 5:00? Give equal circumstance i.e. Grade, temperature etc?
Or do you prefer 2 mile repeats?
Just trying to get an idea of what you fast gentlemen do
Need a definition of fast. For someone who runs an ‘easy’ 10:00 mile 8:00 pace would feel fast. For an elite runner, 5:00 pace may not feel all that fast. It’s completely relative. If you mean someone who is generally near the top amateur at a big race, I’d imagine fast mile intervals would be around 5:00-5:20 pace.
So many factors undefined here. Are you talking track? Are you talking uphill mile repeats as you mention grade–or downhill repeats? Altitude or not? Age makes a difference, time of year (my first few sessions may be significantly slower early in the season, versus later, just because you need to re-learn how to pick 'em up & lay’em down again if you haven’t done them in a while). Besides, my suggestion to you is not to compare others to you, but compare yourself to markers you’ve done in the past to gauge where you are at–then go from there & adjust your training, to get where you’re going/want to go.
It doesn’t matter what Galen Rupp does per mile, compared to what I do, it’s apples & oranges there. His warm up is likely my tempo pace. So build the program & workouts around YOU.
Typically open 10K pace (with a 400m jog rest). Personally I prefer closer to 5K pace with a longer rest.
I’m somewhat fast. (2:48 marathon. 1:17 half mara). I do my mile repeats at approx 10k pace. 5:35- 5:40. I’ll leave on 6:30 so i have about 50 sec rest. Ill work my way up to 10 of them. Then I know I’m fit
I can chime in with what i’ve been doing lately, in prep for an open marathon.
Goal time: 2:50 = 6:30 pace
Track miles have been at 6min pace, started with 4 and 90s recovery. Now I’ve built up to 8 w/ 1min recovery and that felt easy.
Road miles happen sometimes, and often they end up feeling easier for some reason. Typically run at 5:50 w/ 90s rest.
I agree with a previous post. If you ask a seriously speedy runner, like the 70.3 or Oly pros, they probably are doing their repeats in closer to the 4:50 - 5:20 range.
Open 10k race pace with 400m very easy lap between repeats. I prefer to do quarters though if going to the track. Unless you are already running 6-7+ days a week you would probably be better off adding another day of easy running instead. For your average runner, track work is a one way ticket to injury.
…
I have the same race times (not off the bike), but am nowhere near you in mile reps. I’m also soon to be 46.
I have 3x1 as a last workout for LA coming up on Thurs and will be targeting 5k pace (~5:30). Per Pfitz, 50-90% time of rep for rest. I usually jog a slow 400, but might take a bit more to get closer to 3 minutes rest.
If I could do 10x1, leaving on the 6:30, yeah, I’d know I’m fit, too. It’s just never gonna happen.
*to further define my definition of fast would be
Boston Qualifier
Kona qualifier
70.3 WC qualifier
Or
Anyone that can do sub 3 hr marathon
Sub 1:30 half marathon.
I am a ex-collegiate runner and use to do mile repeats sub 5:00. The best mile repeat workouts were the ones with descending times on each repeat, because you get the feeling like you can run faster in a race. My rule of thumb was to keep track workouts under 8km, before it becomes more of a tempo workout. IMO people that do intervals on the track should go in with a mind setting to PR for the 5k instead of Half Marathon or Marathon. I see so many people now go to track run at a comfortable, easy/medium pace because they are training for the marathon that they miss the point of a track workout.
I like that psychology.
I don’t consider myself fast, but it’s all relative. I did 3x1 mile at 10.5 mph on my treadmill this morning. The one thing I’ve come to realize is that the harder the interval the slower it seems to go - by this I mean that the time seems to go slow and it becomes more mental than physical to get through the intervals. I know I can do my prescribed interval times, but one starts to question sometimes when it starts to feel a bit uncomfortable.
i haven’t done mile or 2-mile reps in a while, but i did them on the track a few times a couple of summers ago. was training for sprint/oly tri and an open 10k in august.
5x1 mile / 1:00 jog, all somewhere around 5:50
two weeks later: 3x2 mile / 1:30 jog, all three between 11:25-11:30
three more weeks: 10k road race in 35:30
not sure if that helps you at all. basically, the pace depends on what you’re training for, how many intervals you’re doing, how much rest you take, etc. i was doing them as 10k prep (and, for the 3x2 mile, as a race predictor to check my fitness), so i did about 10k distance and 10k pace with short rest. you could also do reps faster than race pace with more rest…lots of options.
1-2 mile warm up
5 X 1 mile at 5:15 pace on flat long straight. The rest in between is as long as it takes me to slowly jog back the mile I just run (~9-10 minutes).
I hate this workout. Not fun.
Back in my cross country days it was
~20 minute w/u
5 x 1 mile descending at just slower than 5k pace (for me it was 5:20 - 5:07) with three minutes rest
~2 mile c/d
.
I tend to limit my intervals to either 1 mile, 2 mile or 3 mile repeats. My goal for any of those workouts is to run at the fastest pace that I can do the complete workout. Yesterday was a 3 x 2 mile day on rolling hills.
I run a sub 1:30 half (1:27-1:28 depending on the day), never been able to break the 3 in a full…
For my track workout, I usually do a 1 mile w/u, 6x-8x (800m at 3:00-3:05 with a 400m jog/water break), 1 mile w/d.
Sometimes I will throw in a 2 miler after the repeats at a tempo pace+10 seconds. But I try to limit my hard track running, as it tends to irritate my ankle.
So am not sure if I qualify as “fast”. My PR 1/2 marathon was 1:28:12 a couple years ago. I’m much more fit for triathlon now, not sure if I am a faster open runner or not now. My last mile repeat workout was 6x1 leaving on 8:00 on the Monarch Rd. stretch that is popular for this workout in Boulder. One direction is slightly uphill where I averaged about 6:12. The other direction is slightly downhill where I averaged 5:35-5:40. Here’s the link: http://tpks.ws/tWcP
Edit: I see by your definition I qualify as fast under the 70.3 WC clause and sub 1:30 clause. Yay!
**IMO people that do intervals on the track should go in with a mind setting to PR for the 5k instead of Half Marathon or Marathon. I see so many people now go to track run at a comfortable, easy/medium pace because they are training for the marathon that they miss the point of a track workout. **
Boom!
That’s Gold!
When you have done all the other base building stuff THIS is what you should be doing. Go to the track with the specific intention to get the 5k time down and as fast as you can on the track to achieve that. That will mean running a range of paces and intensities from almost all-out 200 - 400 repeats with longer recovery to stuff that is closer to tempo pace with short recovery.
The dirty little secret that rarely get’s mentioned is 5k fitness is the foundation for ALL running performances. The faster and better you are at 5K, the better and faster you will be at all standard running race distances.
Concur.