My 5 Favorite Track Workouts

Are you looking to take step 2 as a runner?

Once you've been running for a little while and have achieved your initial goals, you'll probably want to improve a little bit. That may mean adding some distance to your long runs, but for most people, it also means you'd like to get faster. There are many things you can do to improve your speed. But one of the best is speedwork.

I do most of my speedwork at the track. It takes the guesswork out of things. You know exactly how far you've gone. And track running means interval training.

The basic science behind interval training is simple: You force your heart rate up close to or even beyond your aerobic threshold. Then you bring it back down, which forces additional blood through your heart and strengthens it.

First off, no matter what workout you're doing, you need an adequate warmup. One lap really isn't enough. I run a full mile -- four laps -- at an easy pace before starting the workout. Maybe that's a bit much for you, but to achieve Level 4 Suck, you have to be able to give your run a full effort from the very first step.

When we discuss effort here, keep in mind the green-yellow-red scale: Green = you can have a conversation. Yellow = you can blurt out a few words. Red = you can't talk.

Are you ready? Here are my favorite interval workouts.

400 Repeats: These are meant to be run pretty hard. Go for 1 lap, with a half-lap of recovery. (Note: It takes a little paying attention to make sure you keep your starting and stopping points straight.) I do anywhere between 8 and 12 of these repeats. Effort level: Yellow bordering on Red. Significantly above 5k pace. You're not sprinting, but it should feel hard from the get-go. If you need to walk for some of the recovery half-lap, that's fine.

800 Repeats: 800s are probably the number-one staple for 5k and 10k training, and they're pretty good for longer distances, too. You do 2 full laps around the track with 1 lap of recovery. I try to work at least 6 of these repeats into my run. Effort level: Yellow. Slightly faster than 5k pace, with a slow jog during the recovery laps. If you're doing it right, your breathing will be just about back to a regular cadence by the time you start the next repeat. If you need to walk for a small part of the recovery lap, OK, but keep it to a minimum.

Mile Repeats: This is the one workout I'll do on the street. I have a good mile loop mapped out in my neighborhood, with an easy landmark halfway through. As with the 800s, warm up for a mile. If you're on the track, you'll do 4 laps, with 2 laps recovery. If you can get through 3 of these, you're doing pretty well. Effort level: Yellow, around 5k pace. It's OK if you go slightly faster, but not too much. You're doing a few of these, so you don't want to collapse after the first one. With a half-mile to recover, you shouldn't have to walk any.

Ladders: Ladders challenge you at various distances and speeds. You can work out a pattern that you prefer, but I'll do something like 400-600-800-1000-800-600-400. Recovery intervals are always half the distance of the previous hard part (except after the 1000 -- just recover for 1 lap). Effort level: The shorter the repeat, the higher your effort level should be. So you'll be close to Red on the 400s, but comfortably in Yellow on the 1000. You can play around with the distances, or even do something like 2x400, 2x800, 1x1600 (mile), 2x800, 2x400.

Straights and Curves: This is Level 4 Suck. It's deceptively simple: Jog or even walk the curves, sprint balls-out on the straights. Effort level: Red. If you can make it through 2 miles of this, you're doing really well. It's a killer.


After a tough interval workout, you should cool down for at least two laps at a nice, easy pace. You've built up a lot of lactic acid in your muscles that you'll want to clear. And once you're totally done running, don't forget the stretching. I do toe touches, a butterfly stretch and figure-4 stretches.


What's your favorite interval workout? Leave a comment or touch base on Facebook or Twitter!