track

Track or Treadmill Workout for Faster Running Paces: 400 Repeats for a Faster 5K Pace

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Hi Everyone!

Yesterday I got in a great running workout on the track. This is a great workout for improving your speed and endurance. If you want to become a faster runner you need to learn how to push your body, and how to pace yourself.

During races, or longer workouts, pacing yourself is key to successfully hitting your goal paces during a run. Most people can’t naturally lock into a pace and hold it there throughout a run. It takes practice to learn your pacing, but it will help you become a much more efficient runner.

The total distance for this workout is 5-Miles, but you can adjust the length of the workout for your own needs. You can do this by decreasing the number of repeats, and adjusting the length of the warm-up and cool down. This workout focuses on developing your Fast Twitch muscle fibers, while also incorporating endurance. More fast twitch muscle fibers translate to faster running speeds.

Equipment: Timer and Running Shoes.

 

400 Repeat Workout for a Faster 5K Time

Warm Up: 1-Mile at an Easy Pace

Workout:

Six 400 Meter Repeats (400 Meters= 1 Lap on a Standard Track or .25 Miles on a Treadmill) faster than your goal race pace.

After each 400 Meter Repeat do 400 Meters at a light/recovery pace.

Total Laps: 12

Cool Down: .5 to 1 Mile Easy Pace and Stretching

*Judge your paces based on your goal race pace. For example, if you want to run a 7:00 min/mile pace your 400 meter repeats should be 1 minute and 45 seconds.

Sub 30-Minute 5K Pace: 400 Meter Repeats in 2 Minutes and 23 Seconds.

8 Minute/Mile Pace: Each 400 Meter Repeat in 1 Minute 59 Seconds.

Push during your Hard paces, and use your jogging intervals for recovery.

Have fun! If you try this workout let me know what you think!
Melissa

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Track Workout for Speed and Endurance: Goal Race Pace Memorization

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Do you want to improve your Speed and Endurance? This workout will help you do both! 


Here’s the breakdown:


Warm-Up: 2.5 Miles at an Easy Pace


400 Meter Repeats (X2)

800 Meter Repeats (X4)


*All Repeats should be done at desired Race Pace.

*The first time trying this workout keep rest between each repeat equal to time running. As you progress you can shorten the time of rest to increase intensity. 


Cool-Down: 2.5 Miles at an Easy Pace


Total Miles: 7.5 

Miles at Race Pace: 2.5


If you are running at a standard sized track 1 Lap=400 Meters. 


The goal of this workout is to train your body to work at race pace. You want to memorize what that pace feels like while also building the endurance to handle your desired race distance. Try to complete this workout without music or distraction. Focus on the movements of your body, your breathing, and running form (I call this Flow State). Learn to lock into the pace that you are training to achieve at your next race. 


Learning how to pace yourself is one of the most important aspects of racing. This workout isn’t about pushing as hard as you can for each repeat, it’s about pushing yourself while maintaining a specific pace. 


I will be sharing some harder VO2 Max workouts soon to help improve speed and endurance.  


My breakdown for this workout is below: 

Remember to always adjust for your own pace/goals. 


Goal Pace: 7 Minute-Mile Average

400: 1:45 (minutes:seconds)

800: 3:30


Warm-up: 2.65 Miles (easy pace-road running)


1. 400: 1:37 (6:27 pace)

-equal rest (1:37)

2. 400: 1:36 (6:26 pace)

-equal rest

3. 800: 3:25 (6:43 pace)

-2:30 rest

4. 800: 3:26 (6:43 pace)

-2:30 rest

5. 800: 3:29 (7:00 pace)

-2:30 rest

6. 800: 3:29 (7:00 pace)


Cool-down: 2.48 Miles (easy pace-road running)

Total distance: 7.63 Miles


I was slightly ahead of my goal pace until the last two 800 repeats, which I was able to hit at goal. I am excited to repeat and progress this workout in the future. 


Have fun with this one, and pay attention to what your body is telling you! You can adjust your goals as your training progresses. 


Melissa and Jesse

Intense Cardio Interval Workout

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Hi Everyone!

Yesterday I took my workout to the track. This is a very challenging cardiovascular workout, that will burn fat, strengthen your core, and improve your speed. Even if you aren’t concerned with running speed this workout will help you improve your bodies ability to work at a higher level of effort and improve your V02 Max. 

Make sure you do a warm-up before completing this workout, and finish with a cool-down. I did a warm-up jog (2 laps around the track, which equals 800 meters), and 1 mile cool down at an easy pace. 

When I wrote the workout I planned on doing a 3 minute jogging warm-up and 3 minute jogging cool down. You can choose whichever suits your needs. 

I hope you enjoy this one! It’s tough, but a great challenge! 
Melissa


Click the link to get your own Gymboss Interval Timer!

Warm-Up

-High Knees (1 Minute)
Jump Rope (or invisible jump rope) (2 Minutes)
-Run (3 Minutes-Harder than race pace)
-Burpees (2 Minutes)
-Mountain Climbers (1 Minute)
-Run (3 Minutes: Harder than race pace)
-Jump Rope (2 Minutes)
-High Knees (1 Minute)

Cool Down

Alternate Workout Burst for those who do not run:

All Levels: Max Reps during each 50 second interval, 10 seconds of rest between exercises. Followed by 1 mile run, or 5-10 minutes of cardio of choice. 

1. Frog Hopper
2. Curtsy Lunge Twist (right)
3. Bicycle Abs
4. Curtsy Lunge Twist (left)
5. Jumping Jack Pushup

Day 20: Cardio Challenge: Mile Repeats or Cardio HIIT

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Hi Everyone!

Day 20 was a cardio challenge day for me! I have picked out my first few races this year, and it has motivated me to run. There are two workout options for today. For those of you that aren’t runners I have included an alternate cardio workout option below, so check out the video below. 

For my workout I did mile repeats. If you are a runner, especially if you want to improve your endurance and speed, this is a great workout

Mile repeats should be done slightly faster than your race pace. 

How do I know what my race pace is?  

The easiest way to know your race pace is to go out and run a race and see what you can do it in. Your speed will vary depending on the length of the race (you should go faster per mile in a 5K than you would in a half marathon). 

The other option is to challenge yourself to do a 5K (3.1  miles) as quickly as you are able to. This would be a mock race. I recently did a mock 5K on the treadmill to see where I was at pace-wise with running. An outdoor time trial will be more challenging because there are fluctuations in elevation. You can use Runner’s World’s Pace Calculator to help you figure out your pace per mile. 

My 5K pace per mile was 7:16 min/mile, so for mile repeats I did them at 6:58 min/mile. I wanted to work on both endurance and speed so I did 4 mile repeats at this pace. I rested for about 2 minutes in between each mile. You can increase the rest as needed. Ideally your rest should be closer to half the time that you ran (so mine should have been 3:29). 

My workout:
Warm-up (Jump rope, walk, jog, or dynamic warm-up).

Mile 1: 6:58
   Rest: 2 Minutes
Mile 2: 6:57
   Rest: 2 Minutes
Mile 3: 6:59
   Rest: 2 Minutes
Mile 4: 6:58

Cool Down: Walk 5 minutes.
Total Running Time: 27:52

Don’t forget to adjust the speeds to your own pace. I was not always a runner, and I built up to the speed I have now. (Read: Running Made My Cry…How I Became a Runner if you want to know more about my experience.) I am slowly but surely creating a blog with running workouts, tips and advice at www.BenderRunning.com. I haven’t had as much time as I would like to work on it, but I am going to keep adding to it. 

I hope you enjoy today’s workout. 
Melissa

PS Don’t forget to check in on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter after your workout!



Alternate Cardio Workout(s):

All Levels: Max reps during each 50 second interval, 10 seconds of rest between exercises. 

1. High Knees
2. Jump Kick (right)
3. Jump Kick (left) 
4. 3 Way Double Mountain Climber
5. High Knees 
6. Squat Jump 
7. Mountain Climber
8. Lunge Jump
9. Lunge Kick (right) 
10. Lunge Kick (left)
11. High Knees
12. Surfer
13. Burpee
14. Low Jacks 
15. Pendulum 


Repeat 1-2X

Or try this 10 Minute HIIT:

10 seconds Rest, 50 seconds Max Effort

1. High Knees or Jump Rope
2. Surfer Burpee
3. Side Kick Hop (right)
4. Side Kick Hop (left)
5. Mountain Climber
6. Lunge Jump
7. Squat Jump
8. Russian 
9. Frogger
10. High Knees

Full Body Workout at the Track

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Hi Everyone,

This was my workout today. I did it right before Cross Country practice. It was absolutely gorgeous today, and it was really nice to get outside and enjoy the weather. 

Today’s workout incorporates body weight exercises, and some strides at the track. You can always substitute jump rope or high knees intervals, or do one of my cardio workouts. 

I still felt tired from last weeks workouts. Today I have focused on re-hydrating, and tonight I am going to make sure I get enough sleep to allow my body to fully recover so I am back to full steam tomorrow. 🙂

I hope you guys enjoy the workout. Have a great night!
Melissa

Beginner: 10 reps
Intermediate: 15 reps
Advanced: 20 reps

Repeat 1-5X

*Sprint the Straight Aways, Jog the Curves: 2-5 laps total. 

1. Burpees
2. Walking Lunge
3. Side Plank Jack (right)
4. Side Plank Jack (left)
5. Warrior 3 Squat
6. Plank Jack
7. Tricep Dip
8. Right Step Up
9. Left Step Up

Cardio.