Interval runs provide a lot of information about your running endurance. Your coach may ask you to do intervals of different distances and base on your endurance you may find a distance comfortable to too hard. Remember usually you hit LT zone or zone 4 and higher when you do interval runs.
1. First parameter to analyze is distance. So for super beginners 200m distance of speed running is a mountainous⛰️ task to accomplish. As you run more MAF mileages you will observe that gradually will become comfortable with 200, 400, 800, 1600. Session to session if you are stuck to only a distance then you should bring this to coach notice. Your ability to complete a distance is directly proportional to your cardiovascular (CVD) health.
2. Persistence in a interval distance. How many 200m, 400m, 800m etc. you are able to do. Your coach might have given you a numbers. Please note after certain number it makes no sense to continue that distance and rather you move to next higher distance. For example for beginners first challenge of 200m, max 5 round is sufficient then they should move to 400m and should try their mantel their and so on.
3. Consistency in pace. Once you achieve your persistence challenge then comes Consistency challenge. If you are doing 4 * 400 then you have to observe is your time to complete each 400m is consistent. Initially this is a great challenge, if, for example you complete first 400m in 4 min, second one in 4.30 min, 3rd in 4.45m and last one in 5.20 min, then this data shows great level of inconsistency. A great completion is with in 5-10 sec of deviation. Check if you are well warmed up before you start intervals.
4. Heart Resilience. In interval runs speed run followed by slow recovery run is very crucial. During speed runs you hit different levels within zone 4 and 5 . During recovery, which is time or distance based your heart rate should drop back to your MAF HR zone. It's a direct indication of your CVD health. Its not recommend that you stop completely to bring HR down. If your HR resilience is low then you may want to take more recovery time.
5. VO2 max. Its your ability to intake oxygen when demanded by body. So when you run 800m and above there is a chance you may hit your MAX heart rate limit. For most this is very easy and but specially for old age runners this is a challenge. Also those who are on medication may also find this challenging. So to check if you are able to touch your HR max is also a performance parameter.
6. Gradually raising HR. Running first interval which is 200m distance straight in higher zone is a disaster. Your coach usually gives you a lower HR zone to run initial intervals. This helps your nervous and muscular system to adapt to higher challenges. In reverse intervals its different. It drastically affects your interval performance.
7. Interval session to interval session, 800m and 1600m improvement. Like MAF test this helps you in understanding your anaerobic capacity. If your lifestyle is balance then you should able to see an improvement. These distances are base distances to predict your race timing and your endurance capacity.
8. Ability to execute tempo of 3km, 5km, 8km, 10km, 15km and 21km. In your Advance coaching coach may ask you to combine intervals with either of these distances. Coach observe a differential relationship between each of these tempo parameters to understand your endurance. A healthy differential is an indicator of strong endurance base.
Above 8 performance parameters are what Coach observe after your intervals run. Of course a good watch provides coach with sufficient data to analyze.
Interval runs works like a feed forward system to improve your MAF pace or aerobic capacity at whatever level you are in today.
Uday Bhosle
Integrated Wellness Coach
Life | Nutrition | Physical Coach
+91 9819326452
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