Interval Guidelines- volume, recovery, distance
Interval work: For me, this means 5k to 10k work, or what we typically designate as “Speed.” I know this may create an issue with some folks. In terms of those training for shorter races, like a 5k or 10k, this range will be more like 5k down to 3k race pace work. The point is, we are working on running at paces close to our VO2max, but not exceeding it.
How much Interval work is enough? Typical guidelines are 8% of your weekly volume, up to a maximum of 10k worth of work. Here’s how it would look based on your weekly volume:
| Weekly Volume | Minimum | Maximum |
| 20-30 MPW | 1.6 miles of work | 2.4 miles of work |
| 30-40 MPW | 2.4 miles | 3.2 miles |
| 40-50 MPW | 3.2miles | 4.0 miles |
| 50-60 MPW | 4.0 miles | 4.8 miles |
| 60-70 MPW | 4.8 miles | 5.6 miles |
| 70-80 MPW | 5.6 miles | 6.2 miles (MAXXED) |
| 80-90 MPW | 6.2 miles | 6.2 miles |
| 90-100 MPW | 6.2 miles | 6.2 miles |
As you can see, you are maxed out Once you get up to 80 miles a week. Now I know some pros probably do more than that, but a lot of pros aren’t running 80-90 miles a week if they are 5k specialists- at least not when they are focusing on this type of work.
How I typically lay it out for athletes.
If you are following one the HMM plans from the book, then you know speed is in the beginning of the plan and is typically listed at work done between 5k and 10k pace, with most people opting for 5k pace. If you do the speed at 5k pace, then what I would suggest is keeping the volume around 3 miles (5k), even if your suggested volume can take you up to maybe 4 miles worth of of work. Even if you plan on racing a 5k during this time, actual speed development is not our primary concern here and I don’t think the risk is worth the reward for most people.
However, during a marathon segment, and even a half marathon segment, I like the idea of doing these closer to 10k pace. If you are, then I would say that yes you can go the max distance on the intervals if your weekly mileage allows. Now, don’t rush out and say, Luke says so! I still think if you haven’t done one of the HMM plans before, you stick within the confines of the program. Go through the plan once before getting the itch to customize.
Recovery Times
Instead of reinventing the wheel on this- just take a look a this previous post on recovery jogs: https://lukehumphreyrunning.com/workout-variables-recovery-jogs/
My main suggestion is on these, if a workout is calling for a certain distance recovery jog, but you are far exceeding the golden ratios of work to recovery, then shorten the distance to align with the time. If that’s still too much, then you are going to fast and need to adjust expectations.
Interval Distances
If you do follow the book plans, you know that the distances will range from 400’s to 1600’s. If you are doing more 5k pace/effort, then optimally I would keep the distance of these intervals at a distance of 2-5 minutes. So that might be 400’s to 1200’s for some, while faster runners might be more like 600’s to miles for optimal distances.If doing more 10k pace work, then these distance can be more in the 3-10 minute range, which might mean that your optimal distances will change accordingly. Now, don’t take that as you should never do shorter or longer repeats. I things workouts like 400’s are really great intro workouts for everyone, and I thnk it’s a great test to try 3×1 miles at 5k pace. I just wouldn’t get stuck on doing those repeatedly and I certainly wouldn’t put all my confidence in either nailing or missing these workouts outside of optimal.
