Every good coach presents different effort levels to their athletes. Mixing up workouts can help build a different level fitness or simply keep minds fresh. When working on threshold training, coaches have a few choices. Each of the three choices gives something a little different to fitness and mental training. For most of my coaching career, I relied on progression runs for almost every run. In recent years, I have used consistent pace or intervals more often than progressions runs. Both produced success for various reasons.
The big rage is double threshold days. Gert Ingebrigsten has popularized these workouts while coaching his sons. In these workouts, athletes do threshold in the morning and in the afternoon of the same day. These days allow for a lot of time in the proper training zone while still allowing the proper amount of rest days. I think most high schoolers would have difficulty doing these workouts. They simply do not have enough time in their days.
Progression Runs
I spent a good part of my life obsessing over these types of runs. My teams did anything from 6 to 10 miles as progression. I always used a 1.5 or 2 mile loop. Athletes would run in groups and be given a specific pace to hit. Each loop, the group would increase pace based on a prescribed time. Each group would come together on the last loop or so. That last loop was a great challenge for the slower groups, but gave them an opportunity to run with the top group. These runs work to help build toughness or a "stay-upness". They also help develop threshold by hitting several different paces. Athletes also hit their VT2 (Ventilatory Threshold 2) towards the end of the run in a fatigued state. Here's an example of a challenging workout my team did in 2018:
8 mile run over 2 mile loops.
Group 1, representing my top 12 athletes, ran loops at these paces: 11:45, 11:30, 11:10, 10:45.
Group 2, representing my second 8 athletes, ran 6 miles in loops at these paces: 12:00, 11:45, 11:10
Group 2 started their run 40 seconds up and were able to finish their last loop with Group 1.
Jay Johnson has been discussing progressions over the last week or so. I love them and hope to add some in this season. I have reasons for moving away from them in the past year. A big reason was that my team needed something different. We needed to change things up and it worked for us. Check out @coachjayjohnson on Twitter for some discussions on this type of workout.
Consistent Pace
Nothing beats a 2-4 mile tempo run. These runs have been made famous by Jack Daniels and others over the years. Athletes hit their threshold for a consistent amount of time and learn to focus for an extended period. I think these efforts have helped my team in the past year. The boys needed to gain confidence and these runs helped them achieve that goal.
Interval Style
Another great way to hit threshold work is through intervals. Intervals allow an athlete a slight break and can allow a slightly faster pace. I believe these are necessary if you want your athletes to be able to do the above efforts well. During an interval style "tempo", athletes will run a prescribed pace for a distance with short breaks. For example, a team can do a workout like this: 2k, 1k, 1k, 2k, 1k, 1k with 1 minute rest. For middle distance athletes, these workouts are easier mentally. The breaks allow them to refocus.
Examples
All 3 Workouts with the same general effort. These workouts would be for athletes that have run 4:15 and 9:15:
8 mile build up - average pace about 5:40
4 miles - average about 5:20
800-2k-2k-2k-2k-800 with 1 minute rest - average 5:10
Each workout is a good effort for athletes. My athletes do not find these workouts super difficult nor do the workouts beat them up for too long. I have found the interval style had provided the best results for my team. However, every athlete and team needs something a little different. Find what works for you and your team.