Workout Wednesday: Alternating intervals

This week’s workout is a variation of more classic interval workouts which have you run a set number of repeats of a set distance, often in the one kilometre to mile range, all at a set and specific pace.

Today’s workout still has you run a number of repeats, but alternates between shorter and longer intervals. You’ll change paces, running some intervals faster than others.

To do the workout, warm up for 10-15 minutes by running easy. Add in a few 10-20 second strides to get blood flowing to your muscles and elevate your heart rate. Then, on a flat stretch of road or trail (or a track if you prefer), run intervals of 1K – 2K – 1K – 3K – 1K with 1K rest between. Finish with a cooldown of 10-15 minutes of easy running. The total distance of the workout will be 16-20K.

To make things more interesting, run the shorter intervals at a faster pace – 10K or slightly faster – and the longer intervals at half-marathon to marathon pace. This is a long and taxing workout but is ideal for those training for a half- or full-marathon. Be sure to be well rested and fuelled before attempting the workout and also take extra time and care to properly rest and recover after the workout.

This type of workout is effective for improving your lactate threshold by running at 10K pace and will also help half and marathon pace feel more comfortable.