I agree with Mark--quarters are an important element of mile training. I think 220s serve a different purpose. Quarters build strength. But, that comes at a price, they can be hard to do--especially when the legs are feeling tired.
220s are useful for "speed". 220s abuse the legs a lot less and it is possible to run a workout of 220s even when the legs are feeling tired.
As I get closer to running my mile time trial, I'll be adding quarters to my workouts. In fact, I like to throw in some halves too.
But, even when I'm doing quarters (and halves) I think I'll still do some 220s. They are more fun, they build confidence, they hurt less.
3 comments:
I still think 220s are more for fine tuning your workouts right near the end before a race, but then again, any track workout is good. I think when Bannister broke 4 minutes, he worked out until he could run 10 quarters in sub 60, with a 60-second rest. I never read anything about Bannister doing 220s.
I'm still a little skeptical about doing 220s, prior to building a big distance base. However, I think at our age, since we're not running that fast anyway, it may help psychologically, and perhaps physically, to simply get out there and run at least something at a faster clip than our goal pace for the mile. Often quarters end up equal to, or maybe even slower than our goal pace. I will probably start throwing some 220s in at some point (maybe 200s, since I don't have an English system track).
Yes, now Mark sees the light! Running 220s help break the slow running cycle, but does so in a friendly way that provides superior speed work to longer intervals and an easier recovery.
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