New York City running coach Mike Keohane has his runners use tune-up races for hard workouts. "It helps lower their anxiety levels," he says. "It gets them to break down the race into segments, and also helps them work on specific things." Here are a couple of tune-up race workouts he uses for runners who are preparing for half and full marathons.
Tempo Tune-Up: One mile warmup, followed by 10 minutes at goal race pace, alternating with three minutes of jogging recovery in between. The number of sets depends on your speed and the length of your tune-up race.
Mile On, Mile Off: Alternate harder with easier miles throughout the race. "On" intervals should be at 5-K race pace, while "off" intervals should be 30 seconds slower. This teaches you to build consistent speed, even late in the race.
Step-Down Tune-Up: Use the first mile as a warmup, then run five minutes at half-marathon pace, followed by a one-minute jog. Then run four minutes slightly faster, followed by a one-minute jog. Continue picking up the pace by one minute on the hard intervals, and keeping the one-minute recovery jog between each. Your last interval should be at all-out pace. This, Keohane says, helps you practice starting a little slower and finishing strong.
