Workout Variation

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A workout I recently did: 4x(5x1k @ MP). The algorithm says whut? Read that as 4 sets of 5 times 1k at marathon pace. 60 seconds between repeats. 4 minutes between each set. I really like this workout for early season marathon pace and for people who really struggle with longer tempos. This workout works well as a standalone SOS, or as part of a long run.

I did 20k worth of marathon pace. That’s a little about 12.5 miles worth of work, so I don’t recommend doing that and feeling ok for the next few days. I’ll be honest, I felt like I raced pretty hard after that. My legs definitely had that feeling. The beauty of something like this is that you can modify sets and reps to meet your needs. For example, most people who use HMM and are in the 50-65 miles/week range could do 4 sets of 4x1k and hit 16k (~10 miles). An early season version could be 3x(4x1k) or 2x(4 or 5 x 1k). If doing a long run with some oomph, then a great way to get stronger is by incorporating marathon work into a Sunday long run.

The key here is if you are doing the repeats, then do a short recovery. Even 60 seconds might be long for some people, but I found it to be about right. I recovered but felt fatigued creep in during each set. Each set was progressively more difficult. Also, I recommend doing it at the current marathon pace or starting at the current marathon pace and seeing if you can progress to the goal marathon pace. If you loathe straight-up marathon tempo runs, then this could be a viable option.

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