30-20-10

I wanted to get in some sort of speed work today since I have been slacking a bit on that front. But I didn't get up in time to get in a whole workout on the high school track before school started, and my legs were too tired for long intervals on the road. I was stumped. until I remembered the 30-20-10 workout I read about in Runner's World.

Here is the prescribed work-out

Here’s how to do a 30-20-10 workout.
1. Warm up with easy jogging for about a mile. (The studied runners warmed up for just ¾ mile.)
2. Jog for 30 seconds, run normal training pace for 20 seconds, and sprint for 10 seconds. Immediately repeat this cycle four more times, producing one continuous five-minute repeat.
3. Jog for two minutes. Then repeat step 2 two or three more times. (The subjects in the JAP study did 3 x 5-minutes for the first four weeks, and 4 x 5-minutes for the next three weeks.)
4. Cool down with easy jogging for about a mile. (The studied runners apparently did no cooldown, but we always recommend one.)


I LOVED this work-out. It was cold, windy, and rainy and this morning, but I hardly noticed. The workout went by so quickly and was actually fun. I was a little skeptical that I'd actually work that hard with just 10 seconds of sprinting, but I felt it. I will definitely make this a regular workout and hopefully I'll see the 4% improvement seen in the study.