Workout of the Week: The Halftime Cutdown

Looking for a stimulating but not-too-hard workout to knock out before your next race? Look no further than the Halftime Cutdown. It starts fast and finishes even faster but it will be over before it really starts to grind your gears down. Here are the details:

What: 5-4-3-2-1 minute pickups starting at 10K effort/pace and increasing the intensity a notch (~10 sec/mi if precision is your thing) as the duration of the pickups (and recovery jogs in between) get shorter. Your recovery is to jog slowly for half the time of the pickup you just completed (i.e. 2:30 jog after the 5:00, 2:00 after the 4:00, etc.), hence the name of the workout.

Warmup/Cooldown: Warm up before the workout with 15-30 minutes of easy running followed by a set of drills and 4-6 x 20-second strides (i.e., accelerate for 5 seconds, spend the next 10 seconds at near-top speed, and then gradually decelerate to a jog over the final 5 seconds. Catch your breath for 40-60 seconds and then repeat 3-5 more times). Cool down after the workout with 5-15 minutes of easy running.

Why: I like to use this as sharpening session leading up to a race to dial in pacing and go through a few different gears. It’s not meant to be too taxing, it should feel good to turn your legs over a bit, and leave you feeling confident that you’re ready to roll.

Where: Road, trail, track, or treadmill, this one can be done just about anywhere.

When: I typically assign this workout 7-14 days before a race for the reasons described above. This provides a nice stimulus while also allowing for plenty of recovery time afterward.

Variations: There are many! (Which changes the Why and When of the workout, FYI.) You can try doing two sets of 5-4-3-2-1 with a longer recovery between sets (~5-10 minutes) during a heavier phase of training further out from an important race. You can also stretch out the duration of the pickups (and adjust the intensities and recoveries accordingly), e.g. 10-8-6-4-2, starting at half marathon effort/pace and getting ~10-15 sec/mi faster as the reps get shorter, etc. The permutations and combinations are essentially endless!