This 12 Mile track workout is part of a training block for 10K cross country races and potential Road races in late November and December. I suit high mileage and do not suggest implementing this workout unless you also know that you can; one, handle the longevity and two, adapt well to this type of session.
The concept
The breakdown of the workout was 3 x 4 x 1 Mile, with 2 minutes rest after each rep and 5 minutes rest after the fourth mile of each set. The first 3 miles of each set were at threshold pace 4:57 and the fourth was supposed to emulate 10K pace, being 4:43 per mile. This is to train threshold, but also let the body adapt to surges in races and develop the ability to quickly recover after a change in pace and settle back down into threshold.
The reality
Solo session’s always prove the challenge of pacing yourself to hit targets. My problem is usually setting off too fast. This was the case in this scenario with most first laps on the slower reps being around 70 seconds. This would then be followed by laps attempting to run target pace. Which usually resulted with me finishing between 2-8 seconds faster than targets.
On the harder efforts it was the same story, with my first laps being 65,65 and 64 for the 3 reps. On the first two hard ones, I then settled into a pace between 68-70 seconds per 400m running a 4:33 Mile and a 4:34 mile. The last “faster mile” I set off in a 64, my second lap was a 68, my third a 68 and my fourth a 62. In which I ran a 4:24 mile. 19 seconds faster than target times…
Although I was pleased with the workout, it was ultimately not the right effort and therefore could possibly lead to burning out or an injury. So I would recommend sticking to prescribed targets so you can train consistently. Because that is the most important thing!
The workout video