This is episode 158 speed work, intervals and repeats.

Welcome to the Mojo for Running Podcast, the podcast for the middle or back-of-the-pack runner.

The runner who's looking to get better, but who also has a life, the runner who thrives on

fresh air and sunshine, who's not

afraid to work up a sweat, who chases endorphine highs and is thoroughly committed to living

a long, happy, and healthy life, making every moment and every mile count. I'm Debbie Boyles,

and my goal is to help you reach your goal.

This episode is part of a series about traditional speed work. You'll find the infinite ways

of organizing these classic workouts, make them fun to both plan and execute. Along the way, I'll explain the terminology. Today, we'll

discuss intervals and repeats. These always go together because the interval is the time between

repeats of some distance. Now, a disclaimer here. For experienced runners who've done speedwork

with a coach before, this may seem ridiculously

basic. I can imagine experienced runners rolling their eyes at some of what follows. Believe me,

I know that look. In my prior life, I taught high school English for 15 years. Please forgive me,

if this is my basic to some of you, because I know from years of coaching

that most people who've never participated in a coaching group or run by the coach's guidance

have not heard these terms and have no idea how to organize and perform a speed workout.

I'll introduce three terms that I'll use in the next few

minutes. The first two, repeats and intervals I've already mentioned. They're normally used

together, such as run a quarter mile three times at race pace with a quarter mile easy jog in

between. Now, I didn't use the term repeat or interval, but that was a description

of a repeat and an interval. The quarter mile is repeated three times, and the interval between each

...