Running Workout: Quads and Quarters

So I went out and did this workout a couple days back, but I thought I would post it up. Basically this is a mix-up workout, combining some slow running with speed work.

Starting off, get a nice warm up in, and then run a steady zone-2 4 miler. Trail or road doesn’t matter, but it helps if the elevation change isn’t too much. You’ll see why in a moment. At the end of 4 miles, turn around, then set your GPS to tell you every time you hit a 1/4 mile.

Start off walking to get your HR down. At 1/4 mile, push up to about 75% of max effort (or whatever effort level you can maintain for a 1/4 mile). At the next 1/4 mark slow back to a walk. Repeat this all the way home.

What you’ll end up with is 4 miles of zone 2, 2 miles of zone 1/rest and 2 miles of speed work. Doing the speed work after the 4 miler makes sure that you are warm, but also you’ll be a bit tired, so it is a bit more of a challenge.

To make it a touch easier (and for the rest of the world who isn’t on our silly imperial system) doing this in kilometers is a lesser challenge. However, make up for the lower distance by pushing a bit more for each 250 meter speed stretch.

You can also flip this on on its head, doing the speed work on the way out and then zone-2 running all the way home as a cool-down.

Total mileage: 8 miles (or 8km)
Workout Type: Mix (z2 / speed)

Note: I completed this workout in a pair of Altra Torins. <3

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