High Intensity Intervals: Might or Myth?

Some 6 or 7 years ago while jogging at the U.P. Diliman Acad Oval, I wondered if I could be a track athlete. Maybe I'm born for this thing. Maybe I could run really good. Then some lean runners passed me by and made me eat some dusts mixed with dried old tree leaves. Reality does bite. And when it bites, it most often hurts.

Back to the present day as I know it.. I'm still running and still dreaming if I could be a track athlete. And about 20 pounds heavier. Could I really run as fast as the elite Pinoy runners? Maybe I have a chance. Just maybe. Just a little secret between the two of us, I started to keep track of the Fastest Pinoy Runners, because maybe someday I could keep up with their pace. I have their fastest times so I know what to expect when I compete. My blood's boiling as I type these words as I have been waiting for a long long time to compete with the elites. And then reality bites again. And then all I have are dusts to eat.. Dusts and only dusts again.

I started road racing last November 2008 on Race for LIFE. 10 kilometers in 56:00 minutes. I finished 52nd of 268 finishers with a 5:36 min/km pace. One year later, I joined the Race for LIFE 2009. I finished 6th of 1085 5Km race finishers with my best ever race pace of 4:17 min/km. Maybe I do have a chance. Just maybe.

My goal this year is to stay competitive and break the sub-11 3K barrier, sub-20 5K barrier, sub-40 10K barrier, qualify for the MILO Marathon Finals and most of all qualify for the Boston Marathon. I still believe it's possible. So let's keep the training logs going.


Season 2: The Road To Boston

Chapter 2. Road Work
2.4 High Intensity Intervals: Might or Myth?

I sprinted. I found out I could run as fast as 2:40 min/km. OK. :)
I was running 10km races. I am nowhere near as fast. NOT OK. :(

What if I could bring my 2:40 minutes per kilometer sprinting speed to a 5-kilometer or a 10-kilometer race? I would not be breaking world records, but I will be close to doing it. So what if? Is there a correlation between sprinting and long distance running? Or this interval training is nothing more than a myth?

The last time I used High Intensity Interval Training as my springboard to my 5000 meter race, I improved significantly. To be exact, I recorded a personal best of 21:24 minutes on a 5000 meter race. This was after 10000 meter races at 5:09 min/km paces and slower. How did I improved from barely being able to reach 5:00 min/km to 4:17 min/km?

There is no doubt in my mind that my 10x400m intervals boosted my running speed at that time. Still, I am seeking for more. Faster. Stronger. More durable me. I wonder how I would be able to come close to my 400m speed, 2:40 min/km, when running the 5000m and 10000m road races? What if I could hold my interval speed on longer distances? Just imagine if I could achieve that. 2:40 min/km at 5000m. Wow! It would be amazing. It would shock the Philippine road racing community. :D

But I won't be doing that in the near future. My short term goal is to run under 4:00 min/km for 10 kilometers in March. That's what I will be trying to do before the Globe Run for Home in March 21. And so far, I am failing. Miserably. It was not that easy.

After 4 and a half weeks of my 11-week training schedule, here are my training speed:

EASY   4:49 min/km for 10km. (Suggested: 4:51)
TEMPO DNF for 3km. (Suggested: 4:01)
MAX VO2 2:40 min/km for 400m, 3:14 min/km for 800m. (Suggested: 3:37)
LONG 5:36 min/km for 15km. (Suggested: 4:51 - 5:29)

I have passed the mark for Easy and Interval runs. I still have to deliver on my Tempo and Long runs. But that's perfectly alright. On the first 7 weeks of my 11-week sub-40 10-kilometer training schedule, physical conditionting and high intensity anaerobic training are the top priorities. I do easy runs, interval runs, long runs and is now starting to incorporate tempo runs. But mostly, the interval runs are the highlights of Week2-Week7 training phase. This is where I set my maximum oxygen uptake. This is where I set the limits up to where I could no longer hold my maximum speed. This is where I get to understand just how fast I could go.

High intensity interval training (HIIT) and physical conditioning also goes hand in hand to bring me to my best possible shape and most capable running self. I expect that to come into fruition after Week 7. On Weeks 8 and 9, I will then be running on my race pace and condition myself for competing at the road races. On these weeks, I expect to meet my 4:01 min/km Tempo pace. And my 4:51 min/km Long run pace.

I like this training schedule. But would this HIIT training help me much? Would it whip me into top shape and would it be able to push me closer to my 4:00 min/km target pace? Or is it just a freaking waste of energy? Imagine running 400m and 800m sprints for nothing. A real sad sorry scenario, right? If HIIT turns out as MYTH instead of MIGHT, I would have just been slacking and shirking for almost half of my training schedule.

Of Track Athletes and the Fastest Men on Earth



Fascinated by just how fast a human being could sprint on track, I have viewed several youtube clips of sprint competitions. And then I was hooked. Could I ever come close to these track athletes World Record times?

Maybe not in my lifetime. :D

I am learning a lot though. Speed. Strength. Endurance. Motivation. Speed Form. Strategies. I am starting to believe I could achieve much much more. Athletes work so hard to achieve their best physical capabilities. If I do work half as hard as they do, maybe I could see better results.

I like Michael Johnson. He is physically built for speed. I like his running form. He also spoke about running relaxed. It seems very difficult to run relax as you try to reach your fastest 400meter dash. However, upon implementing this running relaxation at top speed. I was able to hold my speed for longer distances. It's amazingly effective.

I also like Usain Bolt. His character and antics are sure fan-friendly. The media loves him. But I don't have the height nor the character to keep up with him. He is lots of fun to watch though.

More than anything, these track athletes inspire me on my own running training. They motivate me to train harder, faster, stronger. I like to have the mental toughness they possess. Their beliefs and aspirations. Their discipline in and out of preparations. In training and off season discipline. When you see talented athletes work so hard to improve, how much more is required of big-bellied fans like me to gain significant improvements? Watching them stride for Gold, I just want to hit the road and go for my personal best time.

Man on a Mission

Michael Johnson holds the World Record for 400meter run at 43.18 seconds. I do 8x400 meter intervals as part of my 5,000 and 10,000 meter training schedule. So far, I have only managed a best time of 1:05.5 minutes.

At this interval speed, I get to train my maximum oxygen uptake. That maximum really depletes my lungs of oxygen I want to stop at the halfway point already. But for me, it's about knowing how fast I could really go. It's a ride. A self discovery. And then applying what I've learned and experienced to actual road racing. Adapting to that fast paced speed just below my High Intensity Interval sets.

That's how I established my 21-minute 5k last year.

This year, I will break the 20-minute barrier and then the 40-minute 10K barrier. That is my mission.

That's what I'm training so hard for.