Workout Wednesday: Angela Naeth’s over/under speed session

In celebration of Global Running Day, this week's Workout Wednesday is a speed session running work out from Angela Naeth.

Angela Naeth June 7, 2017

This Workout Wednesday is a running speed session from pro triathlete, Angela Naeth. For triathletes with early season running races coming up, it’s important to incorporate speed work into your training. This workout will help you learn race-pace and make it feel a bit more comfortable come race day. Improve and sustain your race day pace with these quick pick-ups.

What are over/unders?

Over/unders refer to running slightly over race pace (or threshold pace) and then slightly under. It’s important to go into a workout like this knowing your race pace for the distance you’re training for.

An over/under workout like this is best performed on a flat surface like a track on in the park, but for athletes stuck on the treadmill for run workouts, be sure to get in a dynamic warmup before you jump right in for the workout.

Warm-up
20 minutes progressive running including a few strides and/or quick 10-30 second speed efforts

Over/Unders Main Set
Determine the race pace that you expect to maintain for your next race, whether it’s a half-marathon, 10 km, or even triathlon race.

– 1 km at 15 – 30 seconds faster than race pace, directly into

– 1 km at 15 – 30 seconds slower than race pace

Repeat this four times with no rest in between.

Cool-down
5 – 10 minutes easy jogging.

Keys

Be as consistent as possible in your pace or effort so that your last interval is similar to your first
Use either pace or heart rate to determine your effort level.
This workout can be adapted to shorter intervals (400 m) to mix it up and to keep it interesting