Along with sunny skies comes an escalated risk of dehydration, and a quicker route to fatigued muscles. Heading out for your regularly scheduled speedwork session during a heat wave may not be ideal, and it is tricky to know how, exactly, to fit those tough training sessions in safely when temperatures are rising. Don’t sweat it—we have you covered.
These three workouts make spring and summer speedwork simple, and are adjustable depending on the temperature and your ability. Add repeats or pick up the pace if you want to kick it up a notch, or modify your workout by shortening or reducing repeats, depending on your goals.
Mile repeats at tempo pace
Long tempo runs are made even more challenging when the temperature rises. By breaking the tempo run into mile-long repeats at tempo pace, with one-minute recovery jogs, you’ll reap the same reward (training at lactate threshold) without taking too much of a toll on your body. This workout also helps you learn how to pace yourself and not over-exert during the initial miles.
Warm up with 10 minutes of easy running.
Run 3-5 x 1 mile, with 1 minute of easy running between reps.
Cool down with 10 minutes of easy running.
Time-based interval session
Instead of distance repeats, switch your interval session to time-based efforts. For example, 10 x 400m becomes 10 x 2 minutes, and 5 x 800m becomes 5 x 5 minutes. This way, you can focus on how your body feels during each interval without worrying about comparing your times to cooler-weather workouts. The sky’s the limit—you can adapt it to any time goals or experience level. Just remember to warm up with an easy jog before you kick it into overdrive, and hydrate before, during and after you lace up.
30-minute fartlek session
Warm up with 10 minutes of easy running.
Run for 4 minutes at a medium-hard pace, with 2 minutes of easy recovery running.
Run 3 minutes at medium-hard pace with a 1.5-minute recovery run, 2 minutes at medium-hard (1-minute recovery run), and hit the gas for 1 final minute of medium-hard effort.
Cool down with 5 minutes of very easy running.
Follow a hard workout, even a shorter one, with an easy running or rest day, and remember to hydrate well.
