Warmup
- 10 minutes easy jogging
- High knees, butt kicks, carioca — 2 x 40m each
- 4 x 100m strides building from jog to mile-race effort
- 2 minutes rest before the main set
Main Set
2 sets of 8 x 200m with 200m walk/jog recovery between reps and 4 minutes rest between sets.
- Effort: faster than 5K pace but not an all-out sprint. Think mile to 1500m race effort — fast and controlled. You should feel quick but not ragged.
- Recovery: 200m walk or very easy jog after each rep. You should feel mostly ready for the next one.
- Between sets: 4 minutes standing or walking. Use the full rest.
The goal is speed with form. If your mechanics fall apart in the last few reps of each set, you’re running the early ones too fast.
Cooldown
- 10 minutes easy jogging
- Gentle stretching
Coach’s Notes
Short reps develop raw speed and neuromuscular coordination. The 200m distance is short enough to run fast without grinding, and long enough that you can’t get away with bad form.
Focus on three things: quick ground contact, a slight forward lean from the ankles (not the waist), and relaxed hands. Tension in the fists travels up to the shoulders and slows you down.
Time your first and last rep in each set. If the gap is more than 2 to 3 seconds, you went out too aggressively.
Scaling
Newer runners: Run 2 sets of 5 x 200m. Same recovery, same effort cues. Speed work doesn’t require a lot of volume to be effective — quality over quantity.
Advanced runners: Add a third set of 4 x 200m at the same pace, or run the workout as 2 sets of 8 x 300m with 100m jog recovery.