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In what way is a 3x8 minute piece meant to be harder than a 2x12 minute one?
Andrew King: "In what way is a 3x8 minute piece meant to be harder than a 2x12 minute one?"
Terry O'Neill: To answer this question you have to consider the basis of training theory. If you intend to perform over 2,000 metres and your aim is eight minutes absolutely flat out, then if you divide the 2,000 metres into four parts you should be able to complete each quarter in less time than when going through the quarter distance of the 2,000 metre piece because you are compressing your total effort into less time. In fact, as a rough guide you should be able to complete a series of 500 metres 5-10% faster than race pace. If you extend the race distance then logically it will take longer to complete because you are spreading your total effort over a longer time. Three 8 minutes is harder than two 12 minutes because you have to produce your maximum effort in a shorter time and more often.
The two examples you have chosen are pretty close together; consider the training range of one long low intensity piece of an hour to one of 10x45 seconds intervals. During the 7.5 minutes of work completed in the short interval sessions you would feel far more exhausted than at the end of one hour's aerobic work. This is because the rate at which you are burning energy in the high intensity session is unsustainable. At the end of a high intensity session your body is out of balance in that there will be depleted glycogen in the working muscles and an accumulation of lactate acid. It will take several hours for the body to return to normal, whereas there are no such after effects of aerobic work.
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