Blog: Why now? 10 x 1!!!

Firstly, thinking variations:

10 x 1 min can be as simple as running a normal flat or lumpy route and running harder over 1 min followed by a period of recovery. Even within this session, changing the terrain from flat to lumpy or from road to off road will produce a different stimulus on our muscles. We may be after strength so in this case choose lumpy/off road or both. We may be after speed so choose flat stretch of road or even getting on the athletics track would allow us to control the pace.

Then we may think about the recovery on this session, 1 min is adequate to bring HR down to aerobic levels, but not sufficient to allow muscles to give a maximum effort repeatedly. A 1-minute interval predominantly engages the lactate system, so therefore to zone into just lactate you may need in excess of 5 minutes if you want to produce near maximum efforts. Sprinters would take 8-10 mins between these intervals and only do 3-5 reps before not being able to produce near maximum efforts. For most endurance runners, we like to target our aerobic systems, so a 1-minute recovery will allow us to use this as a speed-endurance session. Where maintaining the same pace/distance covered becomes increasingly more difficult and would be the aim of this session. Hence, holding back on the first few will pay dividends later in the session when the heart rate struggles to reduce in time and lactic acid starts to burn.

Looking even further at recovery, ‘types of recovery’ change this session enormously. There is the static recovery, which is stood relatively still hands on head vs a slow jog recovery, going forwards but with very little effort vs a float recovery, where we take our foot off the gas slightly but still maintain a given tempo. Changing any one of these again will target a different energy system and create a different stimulus on our bodies. When the target is consistent intervals a slow jog/walk or even static may be the best option. But if you are working on pushing hard with tired legs then the float recovery is the better option. Saying this, the expert athletes will know how to change the hard and float efforts to make this a consistent or even progressive session (get faster on each hard rep).

What else can be changed about the 10 x 1min?

Getting it done on hills. If you are looking for a speed-endurance session then running hard up a given gradient for this length of time is high intensity that builds great strength in key muscle groups. Hill running also finely tunes our running technique and biomechanics making us smoother when we come back to the flat. What is more, if running fast on the flat creates problems then getting on a hill can lower the risk of injury.

Recovery on hills can again be varied, jog, walk, or even going back downhill at the same ‘effort’ level as the uphill session creates an entirely different workout. Moving from speed-endurance to strength-endurance and targeting our aerobic system. This is known as Kenyan hills/continuous hills and can be instrumental for cross country training or even as a variety to the weekly tempo.

10 x 1 min could also prove to be a great addition to a tempo session where it may be sandwiched between a half marathon paced tempo either side. Thus, forcing our bodies to go in and out of threshold heart rate and work hard on tired legs as the session progresses. This sort of session has a very predominant focus on pace control where getting it wrong early in the session bites! Believe me, I have been there!

Even running with a partner or group on this sort of session can make it entirely different!

To answer my sister’s question, why now? Our session today was activation, pre-race to get the adrenaline going which is vital pre-race. It allows us to just work below race pace and practise that feel. There were no fitness gains to be made today with the race at the weekend so this was about holding perfect running form and not letting pace get too heavy.

If we wanted to gain any fitness changes the session would be placed further back in the training block and may have been changed with any number of given factors written above. Plus, our intensity could have been higher as we have more time to recover.

Oh, I love the science! If you do struggle with the why and when’s please get in touch as progression start by getting the timing and style of session spot on!