One of the things that I learned from an interview with Frank Shorter was the need for speed. Shorter, the 1972 gold and 1976 silver medalist at the Olympic marathon, raced from 2 miles to 26.2 miles, holding the 2-mile indoor AR for some time. I remember Shorter dueling with Rod Dixon, 1972 Olympic bronze medalist at 1,500m in an indoor meet in California. They hit the 1.5 miles in about 6:30, and then, it got serious. Shorter dropped a 60-second 400m and then a 57-second last 400m, holding Dixon off until the last straight.
Frank Shorter making the break at Fukuoka Marathon, 1971, photo by Fukuoka Marathon /Asahi Shimbun
My interpretation of that was, during my buildups in January and July, I would hit all comers each week and run the 2 miles. I was running 100-120 miles a week, two runs a day, and needed to check my speed. I might do a hill session one day and a fartlek another, but the 2-mile was like a religious thing. It got me right under a five-minute mile pace and made me work. At the end of each all-comers season was a 5000m on the track, and that would always get a good crowd.
Your workout today, June 7, 2022, Tuesday: Warm-up, 30 minutes moderate running, 4 x 800m, 3,000m pace, jog 400m in between, 20-minute cooldown
2022 RunBlogRun Spring Middle Distance Daily Track Training (800m-5000m), Week 22, Day 2
Monday: warm-up, 40-50 minutes moderate running, 6 x 150m stride outs, cooldown
Tuesday: Warm-up, 30 minutes moderate running, 4 x 800m, 3,000m pace, jog 400m in between, 20-minute cooldown
Wednesday: warm-up, 40-50 minutes, moderate running, 6 x 150m stride outs, cooldown
Thursday: Warm-up, 30-minute easy run, 5000m, sprint straights, jog turns, 20-minute cooldown
Friday: warm-up, 40-50 minutes moderate running, 6 x150m stride outs, cooldown
Saturday: warm-up, primary race distance or, 3 miles, sprint straights, jog turns, cooldown
Sunday: 75-80 minutes moderate pace, on trails
