Take the track

The Long Slow Distance run or LSD, as it's known, is part of every runner's training programme. And it's best for your health if you indulge in this «wonder drug» once a week.

Has running for longer time improved how well your body provides the muscles with oxygen? Is your musculoskeletal system prepared for the physical strain of a long competition? It is? Good. And what about your pace? Training on a 400-metre track will make you go faster.

Individual training plans on distance, intensity and perseverance give you the best training stimulus thanks to the measured laps. You need these stimuli once you've already managed to train regularly and for long enough. Intensity is the final piece of the puzzle. Even though you're going round in proverbial circles, track training can still be fun. More than anything else, it increases your performance.

Track training = interval training

When you're doing track training, you're hardly running a marathon; it's more like interval training. That means you switch between two intensity levels. Each high-intensity period is followed by an active break. The length of the rest period depends a lot on the style and goal of the intervals. In interval training theory, there are standard time periods. For instance, when you're preparing for a 5 or 10 km run. Below are three examples for three different performance levels.

10 km in more than 50 minutes

• 100 m – 100 m: run the straight length of the track at a very high pace and the curve at a very low pace for you. Carry on until you do 3,000 metres or 7.5 laps.
• 8 × 400 m: time how long it takes to run a brisk lap. Then try to run each subsequent lap a second faster than the last. The breaks between the eight reps should be 90 seconds.
• 5 to 6 × 1,000 m: set your pace at the speed you can keep up for 5000 metres on the flat. Have a two-minute break between each high-intensity period.

10 km in 40 to 50 minutes

• 15 × 200 m: run 200 metres at a very high pace and 100 metres at a very easy pace then repeat. Try to vary your pace over the intensive 200 metres, i.e. go faster on the straight than in the curve.
• 12 × 400 m: think of the 12 reps into three lots of four. Run the first rep all the way through at your 5,000-metre pace. On the second rep, run the first half at your 5,000-metre pace and the second half at your 3,000-metre pace. Finally, run the third rep at your 3000-metre pace. The breaks between the reps should be 90 seconds.
• 4 to 5 × 1,000 m – 400 m: run 1,000 metres at your 5,000-metre pace. After a minute's break run 400 metres at your 3,000-metre pace. After a two-minute break, start the next rep.

10 km in under 40 minutes

• 15 × 400 m: think of the 15 reps into three lots of five. Run the first rep all the way through at your 5,000-metre pace. On the second rep, run the first half at your 5,000-metre pace and the second half at your 3000-metre pace. Finally, run the third rep at your 3000-metre pace. The breaks between the reps should be 60 seconds.
• Pyramid 200-400-800-1,200-1,600-1,200-800-400-200 metres: try playing with different intensity levels. As a general rule: the shorter the time you're running, the higher the intensity. In the second half of the pyramid training, try to run the same times as in the first. The breaks should be 30 seconds for each 200 metres, which translates as the following breaks for the pyramid distances: 30, 60, 120, 180, 240, 180, 120, 60 seconds.
• 3 to 4 × 2,000 m + 1 × 1,000 m: run the 2,000 metres at a 10,000-metre pace and the 1,000 metres at full speed. The breaks between the reps should be 90 seconds.

Extra tips

• At most run each quarter of the track at high intensity. You want to run the rest at lower intensity, in the forest for instance.
• Don't start your track training until you've done a 15-minute warm-up.
• You can obviously switch up the rest times and intensity levels to suit yourself. There aren't any limits on your imagination. What's important is being able to keep up the pace you set during each intensity level.
• Finish up your training session with a 15-minute warm-down. It's best to do that barefoot along the inside of the track. This has the added effect of strengthening your feet muscles.

Then stop, breathe, have a break and read more here.