Sprint Interval Training Monday 11th May 2009
I went out yesterday evening for a sprint interval training session. Unfortunately I don’t have a running track nearby so I just go down the Somerset levels and run along the farmers roads. Luckily there is a stretch of road that’s almost exactly one mile long, so I use this as a good way of getting two miles worth of sprint interval training in.
For my sprint interval training I am quite simply trying to sprint at maximum speed for fifteen seconds, followed by a sixty second recovery interval which I start by jogging, but after a few sprint intervals, I find I am having to walk the recovery and get my breath back and heart rate back to a sensible level.
What I really should be doing is training with a heart rate monitor, sprinting for fifteen seconds, then jogging at a slow pace until my heart rate comes back to 120-130 bpm, then sprinting again for fifteen seconds. This would mean that I would have shorter recovery intervals at the start of the session and longer recovery intervals toward the end of the session, but should ensure I can put in maximum intensity for each sprint interval and thus get the most benefit from each training session.
I really enjoy the sprint interval training sessions, I get a great feeling afterwards, it reminds me of my childhood when I used to take part in sports day at school! It’s also good to know that you are training at high intensity and I can feel myself getting faster and recovering quicker already!
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