Track Coach Tom briefing the trainees on Ladder Training
Track Workout Log – Summary
- Days to Marathon: 151
- Training Week: 5 (Feb 21 – Feb 27)
- Training Day: Wed, Feb 24th
- 800 meters @ T-Pace – 4 mins
- 600 meters @ T-Pace – 2 mins 51 secs
- 400 meters @ I-Pace – 1 mins 51 secs
- 400 meters @ I-Pace – 52 secs
- feeling brave optional repeats…
- 400 meters @ I-Pace – 1 mins 45 secs
- 200 meters @ I-Pace – 46 secs
- Total Distance (incl. warmup): 3.1 miles
In today’s Track Training, we were introduced to three of the SF Marathon Training Program Pacers.
Workout Overview – T-Pace & I-Pace Ladder Interval Training
After the introduction, our Wednesday Track Coach Tom Collier dove into the details of today’s track workout.
Tom said “This week, we’ll be will be introducing ourselves to faster running. We have been primarily doing T-Pace running for the last several weeks. On the Pace-O-Meter, the T-Pace is the middle of the road – difficult but comfortably hard. You should be able to talk while you are running.
Tom with the Pace-O-Meter
So today, we are going to do the Ladder. A ladder is a series of intervals, where you start at one distance and then progressively either move up or down the distance.
So we are going to start off at 800 meters (2 laps on the track), at T-Pace., comfortably hard.
Then we rest a little and do the 2nd interval at 600 meters, same T-Pace.
The next interval is 400 meters (1 lap), and we move it up a notch on the Pace-O-Meter, so this should be run at I-Pace. I-Pace is when we push ourselves harder. So you are gonna have a faster pace and not gonna be able to talk 5 to 10 secs into the run. It should feel pretty hard. Not an all out sprint, just feel pretty hard.
The last interval is 200 meters, which is half a lap, same at I-Pace. So to summarize,
- 800 meters (2.0 laps) T-Pace
- 600 meters (1.5 laps) T-Pace
- 400 meters (1.0 lap) I-Pace
- 200 meters (o.5 lap) I-Pace
Tom with the Ladder Training Chart
Resting: Give yourself equal time rest. Which usually translates to something like – if you do 800 in 4 minutes, then give yourself 4 minutes rest. Run 800 at T-Pace. And then jog or do a run-walk at a slow pace.
When you are done with the 4 intervals, if you are feeling up for it (“feeling brave optional repeats“), then you can repeat the last two intervals of 400 meters and 200 meters again. If you have a watch, then by all means do time yourself and log your times somewhere.
Track Log – T-Pace & I-Pace Ladder Interval Training
After our initial 10 minute warm up on the outer lap, I started my ladder training on the inner lap. I ran the first distance of 800 meters at T-Pace alone and clocked it at exactly 4 minutes. Then on my 600 meter T-Pace, I ran into Luiz. Luiz has a pace slightly faster than mine, so I sorta followed him on the subsequent laps. I finished my 600 meter T-Pace in 2 minutes and 51 seconds. For the rest, Luiz and I jogged a little, and walked a little for about the same time as we finished the distances. I completed the 400 meter I-Pace run in 1 minute 51 seconds and the 200 meter I-Pace in 52 seconds. At that point, Luiz and I ran into Steve, who usually runs much faster than both of us and can be found running with the “Elite Runners”.
At that point, the three of us decided we were going “all in”. We ran the optional “feeling brave optional repeats“, which was repeating the 400 meter I-Pace and 200 meter I-Pace runs. I did the 400 meter I-Pace in 1 minute 45 seconds, and the last 200 meter I-Pace in 46 seconds.
The workout felt really great. All throughout the interval runs, I was thinking of the gnocchi pasta dinner that was sitting in my oven, waiting for me to come home. In fact, thinking of the gnocchi helped me get through the last 2 optional interval runs !
After I got home, I showered, had some red wine with the gnocci (yum !) and then slept like a baby (minus, of course, the diapers).
