Advanced Training Sessions

    Haile Gebrselassie says in his official biography that he would rather race than train because his training sessions are so brutal in essence and racing compared to them feels much easier. He describes going to competitions as almost a holiday because he allows himself some rest days for travel and for the day before his event. This points to the fact that not only Gebrselassie but other brilliant athletes and champions have attained their status basically because of two reasons: talent and hard work. Hard work can be done by anyone, talent is handed out at birth via genetic makeup.
    However, if it was only as simple as training hard to become a world champion then everyone would be one. There are those who train hard sporadically, others train hard without much thought and then there are those who look to elevate their present levels of performance via some specific, but different sessions to the norm. The "complex" training sessions which will be described in detail in this article are for the advanced athlete with many years of development behind him. They are certainly not for the novice or young athlete who should stick with his present sessions, concentrating on increasing speed, reps and distance and decreasing recovery times when appropriate.
    If a basic session for an athlete is 8 x 400m in 66 seconds with 90 seconds recovery, it is up to the coach/athlete to decide how to progress. Obviously, for many, the first step may be reducing the recovery period, while others will maintain the previous recovery period and run faster, say 64 seconds.
    These improvements can only be done when the athlete is strong enough to do them. The important thing for any athlete is to be able to do his repetitions consistently, i.e., within ±1 second. By doing so, it is easy for the coach/ athlete to know exactly how things are progressing. Avoidance of inconsistent times is crucial so that the athlete's development can be monitored towards major goals.
    For younger athletes, perhaps a better route may be to exhaust their potential at speed first, i.e., 8 x 400m in 65, 64, 63, 62 seconds before embarking on reducing the recoveries by 10 seconds periodically until the recoveries become too short so that. the speed cannot be maintained throughout the session.
    Once this stage has been reached, perhaps 1 or 2 more reps can be added, so eventually the session may end up at 10 x 400m in 62 seconds with 60 seconds recovery. The process can then commence again in the next season where hopefully more improvements will be gained.
    Top athletes and certainly those with major international medal aspirations and world ranking times will almost certainly maintain that some of their sessions need to have some special ingredients to deliver world-class performances in races. Perhaps standard sessions such as 12 x 400m, 16 x 300m, 20 x 200m, and so on, were good enough for athletes in the past, but to attain the highest levels these days extra components are needed which address several physiological requirements which a specific event may call upon.
    Athletes reaching a peak in mid-season may be doing up to three track sessions per week and these may include: strength endurance (high number of reps with short recovery at race pace); speed endurance (fewer reps with longer recoveries at faster than race pace); speed (low number of reps at maximum speed with long recoveries).
    However, although sessions can be tailored to meet individual athletes' needs they also need to include more components in a multi-faceted delivery which adds more quality to the week's work and provides more specificity to the athlete's program. The end result can help the athlete to be ready for any eventuality that a race may throw at him by developing more readily the physiological needs required for his event.
    The sessions to be described are hard, but at the same time adventurous and enjoyable, with the added bonus of being SMARTER (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-based, Exciting and Recordable). They can be done regularly in a particular phase of training, but once or twice a week at most would be more realistic. They are not unique and are derived at through experience and knowledge of the athlete and his event. The sessions are extremely testing and if completed successfully they will give the athlete a tremendous confidence boost, with the knowledge that he is in terrific shape and ready for a major performance.
    In what follows I provide some of these event-specific sessions for athletes preparing for the 800m, 1500m, 5000m, and 10,000m. The workouts described here are competition-related which will put the athlete through the physical and mental conditions encountered in a race, and some of the sessions don't realize high volume in terms of miles/kilometers, but do produce extreme fatigue levels and excellent quality training.

800m

    ♦  2 x 400m (60 seconds recovery) at 100% effort. Take 15 minutes rest then repeat again. Let's say the athlete does the 400m efforts in 51, 53; 54, 56. The average time is taken for each set and this equates to the capability for 800m: 52 + 55.5 = 1:47.5. This is highly anaerobic and accumulates high levels of lactic acid, just what the 800m athlete needs to experience and will encounter in the event. If the first set produces very quick times and the second set not so quick then endurance needs to be worked upon. Similar effect to the Kosmin Test, but in essence totally different. Most athletes think 15 minutes recovery is overdoing it; not so when they've completed their third or fourth 400m.
    ♦  600m at 800m pace, 20 seconds recovery, 100m flat-out. Take 10-15 minutes recovery, then repeat. If the athlete has a best 800m of 1 :46 then the 600m would be completed in 79.5 seconds and the 100m in around 12.5-13.0 seconds. This helps with preparation for finishing fast when tired. As with the previous example it is vital to keep moving as much as possible in between sets (if only walking) to reduce lactic acid levels and help the body to recover for the next block. Where many athletes go wrong is that they sit or do nothing during the recovery period and they will almost certainly fail to perform at the first set level. Younger athletes in particular need to realize that by getting moving as soon as possible after any hard exercise, although hard, is the best way towards recovery.
    ♦  2 x (5 x 200m) at slightly faster than 800m pace with 25, 20, I5, 10 seconds recovery. Take 10 minutes between sets. Therefore for the 1:46 athlete the reps would be completed in 26.5 seconds. As the athlete becomes more tired, the recoveries get shorter This also helps with duplication of the tiredness and stress the athlete will encounter in the race and particularly over the last 200m.

    ♦  200m at faster than race pace (24 seconds), 20 seconds recovery, then 400m at race pace (52.5-53.0 seconds). Repeat three or four times after 10-15 minutes active recovery. Helps with the simulation of maintaining pace and rhythm after a fast start in a competition. Anaerobic in essence, but once the athlete can complete the reps with comparative ease he should know what shape he is in and thus be more confident.

1500m

    The following sessions are based on 3:32 pace and obviously, as in the 800m sessions, can be adapted accordingly for whatever time the athlete is aiming for.
    ♦  5 x 400m at slightly faster than race pace-56 seconds) with 50 seconds recovery. Sounds incredibly hard, but if an athlete wants to run target times he must not only run faster than race pace, but for longer as well. Recoveries can be reduced by 5-10 seconds when the athlete can run the 400m reps in target time.
    ♦  16 x 200m in 28 seconds with 25 seconds recovery. Slightly faster than race pace and twice the race distance. Helps enormously with running efficiency and developing aerobic effectiveness. Important to run even pace to get the best out of the session and helps those with poor pace judgment and endurance with rhythm being all-important.
    ♦  600m at slightly faster than race pace (84 seconds), 60 seconds recovery, 200m at 800m pace (26.5 seconds), 60 seconds recovery, 600m at previous pace. Take 10 minutes recovery then repeat twice more. Helps with mid-pace injection and maintaining pace comfortably through enhanced strength capabilities.
    ♦  600m at race pace (2:21), 45 seconds recovery, then 300m at 800m pace (39 seconds). 8-10 minutes recovery. Repeat 2 more times. Helps with building up endurance at the point where the athlete needs to be feeling fresh and relaxed in a race before the charge at the bell.

5000m

    These sessions are based on an athlete aiming for 12:50 (61.6 seconds per 400m).
    ♦  300m at race pace (46 seconds), 20 seconds recovery then 100m at faster than race pace (14 seconds), 40 seconds recovery, then repeat block again 15-16 times. Brutally hard, with a constant increase in pace, but once mastered even paced running should feel comparatively easy.
    ♦  1000m at race pace (2:34), 30 seconds recovery, then 200m at faster than race pace (30 seconds), 60 seconds recovery. Repeat 5 more times. Another killer session helping with uneven pace in a race.
    ♦  400m at race pace (61 seconds), 30 seconds recovery, then 800m in 2 minutes followed by 1 minute recovery. Repeat another 4 times Le. 400m (30 seconds recovery) 800m (1 minute recovery) x 5.
    Similar pace to race target, but 2½ laps further Good pace judgment and strength endurance session.

10,000m

    The sessions here are based on an athlete aiming for 27:00 (64.8 seconds per 400m).
    ♦  30 x 400m in 64 seconds with every 5th 400m in 61 seconds i.e., reps 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30. 45 seconds recovery between each rep. Classic strength endurance session, longer than race distance, slightly faster and with sporadic significant increases in pace. Helps with pace judgment and the ability to cope with surges in mid-race.
    ♦  6 x 2000m with 90 seconds recovery. First 5 reps in 5 minutes 24 seconds, last rep in 5 minutes 10 seconds (62 seconds per 400m). Another good pace judgment session and race assimilation with a fast last 2000m required when fatigued.
    ♦  16 x 600m with 45 seconds recovery. Reps 1-4 in 64 seconds; reps 5-8 in 63 seconds; reps 9-12 in 62 seconds; reps 13-15 in 60 seconds; last rep as fast as possible. This session gets subtly faster until reps 13-15 are run at a relatively fast pace, followed by the final rep which is at 100%. This session is all faster than race pace and increases in pace throughout and reenacts the requirements of a world-class competition.

WINTER SESSIONS

    Winter training has basically a two-fold purpose: building on strengths and working on weaknesses for the next track season and training for the cross country and/ or road season. Some athletes do their quality sessions on the track and others do a mixture on track, road and grass surfaces. Many will do standard sessions such as 8 x 3 minutes, 6 x 4 minutes and 5 x 5 minutes with differing recoveries, but generally around 1-2 minutes. Below are suggestions to enhance such sessions and are not against the stopwatch in terms of meeting lap times but against the whistle and distance run in a specific time.
    ♦  10 minutes at 10k pace, 2 minutes recovery; 6 x 2 minutes at 5k pace, 1 minute recovery; 10 minutes at 10k pace. Strength endurance session which helps with maintaining pace in the remaining segment of a race.
    ♦  4 x 5 minutes at 5k pace, 90 seconds recovery; 15 minutes at 10k pace. Another great builder of strength for the end of a race.
    ♦  4 minutes at 3k pace, 1 minute recovery; 12 x 2 minutes at 5k pace, 1 minute recovery; 4 minutes at 3k pace. Helps with conditioning the athlete to run strongly at the end of a race when tired.
    ♦  90 seconds at 3k pace, 2 minutes at 5k pace, 90 seconds at 3k pace, 2 minutes recovery. Repeat block 6 times. Facilitates a fast start, maintenance of pace and surging when tired.
    ♦  3 minutes at 5k pace, 1 minute at 100%, 2 minutes recovery. Repeat block 8 times. Helps with major increases in pace and also conditioning the body to uneven rhythm in a race.
    ♦  3 minutes at 3k pace, 5 minutes at 10k pace, 3 minutes at 3k pace, 3 minutes recovery. Repeat block 3 times. Another session which helps with a fast start and maintenance of pace before increasing pace again.
    ♦  A simple, but effective session for mileage-oriented athletes is to do their 60-minute run and finish off on the track with 4-6 x 400m at 3k pace with a 45-second recovery; then do a 5-10minute cool-down.
    These sessions are different from traditional 'textbook' examples, but offer the athlete, who is well-conditioned and with a high capability, the chance to develop the specific requirements of his event more precisely. Only the supremely fit and mentally strong athlete can complete these sessions in the way that they are intended to be carried out. The benefits can be great as many of them offer 'two-in-one' sessions as opposed to the more traditionalist approach. Recovery days are vital when taking on a high work ethic and one easy day may be enough for some but two days may be needed for others.
    All of the sessions I have described in this article can be adapted to any athlete's ability and target times but should be done by athletes who are mature in terms of development and conditioning. They are not sessions that would normally be done in a race week, but are ideal in the preparatory phase for an objective in a specific competition. With diminishing standards nationally, athletes and coaches need to change their thinking and approach to training so that the rest of the world doesn't move even further ahead. Trying a different slant on training is surely one way to do this. Are you brave enough to give it a try?