NAZ Workouts: Sets of 2k/1k

THE DETAILS: Sets of 2k/1k with the 2k at Lactate Threshold Pace and the 1k at 5k race pace. Two minutes rest between each 2k and 1k and a 400 jog between sets.

AN EXAMPLE: Alan Culpepper took over HOKA NAZ Elite head coaching duties in May and already this session is becoming a staple for us. Stephanie Bruce did it in preparation for the USATF 10,000 meters, Alice Wright did it in her build-up to the European Marathon Championships, and last week Wesley Kiptoo and Alex Masai did it in preparation for the final two races of their summer road race season–the Wharf to Wharf 6 mile on July 24 and the Falmouth Road Race on August 21. For Alex and Wesley, the prescribed paces were 6:00 for the 2ks and 2:40 for the 1ks. The 2ks, because of their duration, were converted to account for the altitude in Flagstaff (7,000ft) but the 1ks were kept pretty close to sea level 5k race pace (13:20 rhythm). They did a total of four sets so 12k, or roughly 7.5 miles, worth of hard work. That’s probably about as much volume as you’d ever want to do for this particular workout. In most cases three sets should do the trick and for beginners, or high schoolers, two sets might be plenty.

As for how well the men executed the workout, it was near perfection…though Wesley may have gotten a little too excited on the 2ks (this may not come as a surprise to those of you who followed Wesley’s NCAA career!). Each 2k was between 5:50 and 6:00 and each 1k was between 2:38 and 2:42. Here’s what the fellas had to say about the day and their prep for Wharf to Wharf next weekend:

“The workout was nice and controlled, felt that race pace for the 1ks, and as I look forward to race at Wharf to Wharf I feel strong and ready to roll.” – WESLEY

“During this time of the year, California weather is probably the best running weather in the country. I am very excited to be racing on the roads. Training has been great and when that time comes, I will be ready! Bring it on!!” – ALEX

HOW TO DO IT YOURSELF: This is a great workout for those of you training for just about any distance from 1,500 meters to the marathon. It does serve a different purpose though, depending on that end goal. If you’re a miler, this is a strength workout that might be done a little earlier in your season as a base-building workout and in that case you’d be conservative on the paces–making sure that the 2ks were on the slower end of your threshold zone and the 1ks were at a very realistic 5k pace (based on what you could actually run at the time of the workout). Same goes for the marathon where this session would serve as a chance to work on some quicker paces to break up the monotony of long marathon-specific work. However, if you’re preparing for a 10k then this session is a bread-and-butter type of workout that should be done in the heart of training, and fairly aggressively.

END

Hope you enjoyed this edition of our “NAZ Workouts.” Stay tuned for another edition coming out next Wednesday!!

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