David Hauss (France)
David's father Joel is also his coach. David told me that he never, or very rarely, does bike-to-run workouts. He likes to do some of his training at altitude in Font Romeu (altitude 1850 meters, 6079 feet) or Davos (altitude 1600 meters, 5249 feet). He builds on his race pace by utilizing fast sets on the track.
He says when he does the track sessions he goes to a slightly lower altitude of 1550 meters or 5085 feet. He prefers two track sessions per week.
Track Workout #1
An example session is 3 x 10 minutes at a 3:20 per kilometer pace (3-minute recovery jogs) followed by one long hill repeat that takes 20 to 25 minutes.
Track Workout #2
Another workout he does is fast repeats to keep strength in his legs. For example, before the Madrid race this year, he did 4 x (4 x 600 meters) as a progression.
- Set 1 is at 1:52 pace per 600
- Set 2 is at a 1:46 pace
- Set 3 is at a 1:43 pace
- The final set is at a 1:38 pace.
He recovers between each run with a 200 meter easy jog.
Track Workout #3
A final workout example is a descending set.
- It begins with 1000 meters at a 2:48 pace
- 800 meters on a 2:13 pace
- 600 meters on a 1:38 pace
- 400 meters on a 1:02 pace
- And finally, 200 meters at 27 seconds.
These runs are followed by near full recovery jogs of around four minutes. On some occasions he will include hill repeats at the end of this run of 8 to 10 repeats on a hill taking 1.5 minutes.
In the recent three-week block he did this intensive training; he was running between 115 and 135 kilometers per week.
More: How to Use Track Workouts in Endurance Training
Barbara Riveros (Chile)
More unstructured than the others, Barbara's favorite speed run while living in Australia is to chase kangaroos until they run free of her. She recovers and does it again. She tells me that this unstructured speed workout and running freely in the mountains gives her energy.
You can see from the two columns that there are many ways to run fast off of a fast bike ride. Finding the combination of workouts done at the correct pace for your goals will undoubtedly make you faster?just like the pros.
More: How to Add Speed to Your Swim and Bike Workouts
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