Beginner's 3-Minute Intervals
Workout - Beginner's 3-Minute Intervals
- 10min @ 6'00''/km
- 5 lots of:
- 3min @ 3'55''/km
- 3min @ 6'00''/km
- 10min @ 6'00''/km
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A rundown of Interval Training Running Tips For Beginners (How To Run FASTER) from That Running Guy. Worth a watch. We’ve broken it down so you can run this workout today. The full video has the nuances.
Key points:
- Focus on aerobic power (VO2-max) with 3-5 minute intervals. Longer intervals pile on lactic acid, working against the goal.
- Slightly faster than your 5K race pace. Use a recent 5K time with the VDOT app to set your interval pace (e.g., an 18:47 5K maps to roughly 5:57 per km).
- Recovery equal to the work interval (1:1) as a baseline. Experienced runners can compress to 2:1. Beginners might need 5:1.
- Keep it rhythmic. Each rep should match in duration and recovery. When fatigue hits, lengthen recovery rather than slowing the pace.
Workout example:
- Warm-up: 10-15 min easy jog plus a few strides.
- Intervals: 3 min at your calculated interval pace (roughly 5-6 sec faster than 5K pace), then 3 min easy jog.
- Repeat 3 times to start. As fitness builds, work up to 6-8 total intervals, adding 1-2 reps at the same work-to-recovery ratio.
- Cool-down: 10 min easy jog.
Tip: once comfortable, try adjusting the ratio. Shift to 2:1 (e.g., 1 min hard, 30 sec easy) or extend to 5:1 if you’re still building your base.
Closing note: run this session this week and adjust the work-to-recovery ratio to your fitness. The Pacing app sets paces from your latest race times.