Cilles AC Pace & Intensities
Below there is a chart that we use to guide us in choosing paces and interval speeds that will have the most performance gains.
Understanding you current ability is critical : we should be completing regular 2 mile timed runs to determine the most beneficial paces when training.
The 2 mile trial is an excellent methood to gauge your aerobic ability & a 400m trial is an excellent way to determine the speed of your short intervals.
Using the charts below, completeing a 2 mile timed run & using your fastest 400m pace you will be giving yourself a training profile. Imagine that my training profile is a 30-R , keep reading to see how I got it....
I went for an imaginary 2 mile timed run, I finished it in 11:59. So I searched the 2 Mile column on the chart below and found that I was a level 30, a few days later I did an 400m in 76sec which reflects level R using the second chart - Which makes me a 30-R
For a Level 30, all of my aerobic training will be done at a pace on the Level 30 line, on a sunday my long run is done at AT pace which is 5:16 per k for me "a level 30", also I will aim to finish my thursday 600m Vo2Max interval at 2:14.
My speed session times will be on the Level R line, So i'm trying to do my 120m in 22.1 Secs or my 500m repititions in 101secs.
The aerobic pacing is based on current ability, so its important to do regular tests on the same course if you want to keep improving, I suggest completing it once every 6week block, at the end of the current training block makes sense to me as that will give you a focus for the next block.
I feel that one of the most important things to get from your 2 mile run is your AT pace (Aerobic Threshold). This is the pace where most of your running should be , If your doing a long run its as close to AT as you can., if your doing a recovery run its at AT , if you are between intervals you revert to AT pace. AT pace might feel too slow but trust me its not , your performance will improve when most of your mileage is at this pace. you dont have to be spot on AT to get the benefits but +/-10sec is good.
We will conduct our 2 mile on a fair flat route that is measured on the golf links road, hopefully the thursday 2mile will become a staple in our training.
The club training plans will reflect what is on this chart, ie. 5x1k@LT with 30sec rest and 3x200m Speed2 will translate to the following for a 30-R that will be 5x1k@4:24 Per K /30sec and 3x200m@37sec /3min
The 400m can be done once every 6 months as it wont fluctuate as much as a 2 mile time.
This Might seem confusing at first but once we do a time trial and go through the process it will all become a bit clearer.
What Now?
Download the chart, Print it out , do the 2mile and know your profile - Your race times will appreiciate it.
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