My top 5 tempo and interval runs

A confession: I love tempo and interval training.

You may think this girl is a little loco… But really, I am not.
It brings such a variety to my running and has actually made me run further (and faster on occasion. LOL).
Because I like tempo and interval runs so much I am sharing with you my Top 5 taken from a variety of sources including Runner’s World and my Team in Training coaches:

1. straights and curves – easily my favorite. Run on a track: 5k pace on the straights and a little slower on the curves (or 100 meter 5k pace / 100 meter slower if you don’t have access to a track).
2. long tempo countdown – I did variations of this in the past and loved it. 4 miles @ 15 seconds slower than race pace, then 3 miles @ race pace, 2 miles a little faster than race pace, then 1 mile with all you have got left.
3. ladder – 400 meter – 600-800-1000-800-600-400 all at a little faster than 5k pace with 200 meter rest in-between.
4. bannister – 10x400meter at mile race pace with 90 seconds rest.
5. power hills – 12×30 seconds uphill sprint. Jog down for recovery. Or check out the hill blaster for treadmills below.

Given all these hilly races that are coming up, I should definitely find a hill to run some power hills. Do overpasses count?

What’s your favorite work-out?

I need to add a post-script: +Steve Fines just mentioned to me to not mix your speed intervals with wine the night before. Hey – don’t cry! I am just passing on the information. Tell me if you have better experience with mixing wine and speed work-out. LOL.

Hill blaster work-out for treadmills (I can’t find the website anymore where I got this from):
Warm up for 10 to 15 minutes. Set the treadmill at 10 to 12 percent elevation, or the highest elevation available on your treadmill. Run for 1/10th of a mile at a strong but maintainable pace. You should run at a pace that you can maintain for the entire workout, not just one repetition. You should not feel exhausted after one or two repetitions. If you are excessively fatigued, slow down your pace. After running for 1/10th of a mile, decrease the elevation to 2 percent and decrease your speed to an easy pace for one minute of recovery. Then increase the elevation back to 12 percent for another 1/10th of a mile before decreasing again to 2 percent for one minute of recovery. Keep up this pattern of 1/10th of a mile at 12 percent elevation/ one minute at 2 percent elevation for 3 to 10 repetitions. For your first workout, stop at 3 repetitions. Gradually increase the number of repetitions as you progress through your training program.