Workouts: 30/30 and 50/50

Coach Joe English

Workout: The 30/30 and 50/50

Workout Summary: Today we’re looking at two related workouts that offer very different experiences. Although they look similar in name, there is a fine distinction between the two that makes one pretty painful and the other a lot more fun. These two workouts — the 30/30 and 50/50 — both work on raw speed, because the intervals are short. And they will tax you, because they are continuous efforts. This makes them great workouts to add in the mid-season to work on speed while keeping the workout going for a good period of time.

The first of the two workouts is the 50/50. In this workout we’re talking about 50 meters hard followed by 50 meters easy. 50 meters is half the length of the straight part of the track or half way around one of the corners. That means that in each of the four sections of the track (two straights and two corners) you’ll run one hard effort and one easy effort.

The second of the two workouts is the 30/30. In this workout — very different from the last — we’re talking about 30 seconds hard and 30 seconds easy. Not seeing the difference yet? Read on to find out what makes this workout so much harder than the first.

Background: Running fast is what’s going to over time help you get faster. There’s nothing like some quick, short bursts of running to get the legs going. Short sprints are good for building this running strength, but the problem with short sprints — for distance runners at least — is that we also want to keep the heart-rate elevated for a period of time in our workouts. The answer is to run short distances at high-speeds, recover while running, and then run hard again. The workout then takes on a continuous nature that keeps the heart-rate elevated and works on running strength.

There are two good ways to do this workout. One of them is quite fun — the other, not as much. The fun workout (at least to me) is the 50/50. This is 50 meters hard followed by 50 meters easy. This workout goes by fast once it gets started. Mentally its a pretty forgiving workout. What makes it so forgiving is that this workout is measured by distance (50 meter segments). That means that the 50 meters hard is always 50 meters long. However, since the 50 meters easy is measured by its length that means that you can slow down and take as much time to cover that easy 50 meters as you need to recover. You shouldn’t take the pace down so slow that you aren’t moving, but you COULD do that.

The 30/30 workout, on the other hand, is measured in terms of time. That means that you’ll run 30 seconds hard and have only 30 seconds to recover. There’s no way to fudge the recovery on the 30/30. It’s only going to be 30 seconds, end of story. That’s what makes the 30/30 a bit harder than the 50/50 — that’s also what makes it a better workout, because that will keep you honest.

You’ll want to do enough of these to maintain the quick running and heart rate elevation for a good block of time. For beginners, I might suggest starting with ten to twelve minutes of 30/30s. For more advance runners, shoot for 15-20 minutes worth of 30/30s or 50/50s.

Where to do this workout: You could do these workouts anywhere. The 50/50, since it is measured in distance, is easiest to do on a track. The 30/30 — measured in time — can be done with an interval timer either on the track or on the road. You could also do the 30/30 on a trail, in a park or anywhere else that seems interesting. This is a very flexible workout.

How fast to do this workout: These intervals are short and should be done fast. But keep in mind that they will feel harder as the workout goes on due to the fact that the recovery is done as a continuous jog and that will keep the heart-rate up. Aim to do these at a speed higher than your 5K pace or as fast as you can handle without the pace suffering late in the workout.

Nice things about this workout: These workouts go by quickly. Once you get them started, they will fly by. The 50/50 is a mentally easy workout that can be done on a day when you’re feeling flat and tired.

When can you start? I tend to use these in the middle or late part of the season to work on speed. They are also great during the taper period when recovering from difficult training before a big race.

How often can you do this workout? This is a good companion to slower (10K pace) workouts, so it can be done in a week to balance that slower workout.

Advanced options: The main way to make this workout more difficult is to add to the number of repetitions — either as a continuous set or after a 5 minute recovery break. Try to do 2-3 15 minute sets for a tougher workout.

We’ll feature another workout next week, so stayed tuned! Don’t miss our video series feature every Thursday here on Running Advice and News.

Coach Joe English, Portland Oregon, USA
Running Advice and News
www.running-advice.com

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