Using intervals to get back to running

no, keep it slow, and consider a different sport if you are so bored that you think you need to break up 20 minutes of pain free running

Nice snarky response

i have gone around and around on this. first i thought, the other poster was right, then i thought it was a semantic misunderstanding, now i think you're being unrealistic.

you are going to earn a snark response with "intervals" headlines when you can barely run 20 mins without pain. (first response). we generally see intervals as fairly full gas, not moderate. (second response). last, more i thought about it, i kind of doubt 3:15-30 is actually moderate for you, meaning i think you are full of it calling that moderate. (finish line). you don't do fairly quick intervals when you can barely handle 2-3 mi slow without pain. common sense.

assuming this isn't troll stuff, my advice would be either

(a) shut down and rest off any short term injury issue you had, where pain is not involved when you come back

OR

(b) if this is a long term chronic thing, tendonitis/arthritis or something like it, i would start short and train/race there instead.

i would go with the second. i have beat up knees and ankles from soccer and running. i am not racing over a mile. i often run shorter stuff, and in any case, i ALWAYS operate on a sort of pitch count. i run no more than a set distance. i run that distance no more than x days a week. as long as i play within that, tendonitis doesn't visit. when i get cute or ambitious is when tenderness comes back.

i do think you could play around with breaking up the distance with something akin to an interval, at a sincerely moderate pace, but if you get pain past 20 min, that says to me you either need to limit the longer intensity or mileage OR drop down if you want to go harder.

otherwise i actually agree with the snark. i ended up doing other lowered leg impact sports for a while and have only come back to running in recent years. and if you're talking 3 min 800s, when you can barely do long and slow very long without pain, that's silly.

and personally i find it more fun racing and better cardio to go shorter and faster as opposed to a slow 5k on the edge of pain.

but then the question here is did you suffer something acute you just need to heal, or is this chronic and something to be managed, mindful you might want to walk with less pain as an older person.

try a few sessions of straights n curves on the grass infield first, then progress to diagonals, then eventually hit the track.

It might be a good idea if it keeps you motivated. 4 x 800 is probably not the right thing at this point. Instead, consider running 200 on/off for 10-15 minutes; this assumes a little warmup before.

what is the injury history you have going on?

Yes. Easy interval running is a great way to get back into it. I would suggest reading about Verheul and the Easy Interval Method. I think it works well when your joints and tendons are not used to the pounding, including for older runners.

The Easy Interval Method specifically prescribes either 15x200m at 1500m-3000m pace, 10x400m at 5k-10k pace, or 6x1000m at HM pace, all with brief (10-20m) walks before a jog recovery interval equal to the rep distance. The sessions are meant to be repeatable every day, so no gut-busting sessions, and comparatively low injury risk. You could start with half the number of reps, and build up as you feel more comfortable.

I favor easy progressions based on feel for getting a bit of speed back into it after recovering from calf injuries where you really don't want to put too much force down, so you just gradually are picking up after you are all warmed up. After that works out to the point that you are back to your old easy pace without difficulties and are getting down on occasional progressions toward threshold pace near the end, then move on to strides and intervals, again relaxed and not too fast.

If you prefer 800m reps, it would be something like 6x800 at 15k-HM pace, with 800m easy jog recovery between each. I personally find the shifting of stride every few minutes to be less stressful on the joints, etc.

If you're just starting back, I would suggest fewer repeats (like 4x800, as you mentioned), with maybe a 400m walk/jog recovery interval, rather than the 800m jog recovery. Then build the number of reps before starting the full jog recovery intervals.

Just waiting for OP to come back with why he can't follow anyone's advice.

There is a 100 page thread on this board on how to do Ingebrigtsen threshold training for hobbyjoggers like us.

IMO its the safest, easiest and most productive training I have ever seen or tried. And u can do it as a beginner. I am 64 having not even raced in 40 years now, I started with 8x200m threshold intervals at 5:30 min per k pace with 60s rest and worked my way up from that.

U want something different - start there.

My go to getting back into shape routine is just an easy-moderate 3 miler most days, hard 150m strides, and 6x400m as a workout.

Ill do that until it feels unchallenging and then start tacking on mileage and intervals as I gain fitness. It usually gets me to a serviceable training volume/intensity after about a month of it. I think it’s good for rebuilding your mechanics and shorter speed so you have a good reserve/efficiency for when it’s time to be TRAINING training again.

+1. Couldn't agree more to the Norwegian thread on lower mileage. Have had huge success with it, the sirpoc method I guess as it's now known as.

He has come from nothing to 15:40 in 3 years. I spoke to him a few month ago, he told me he couldn't even run a 5k in maybe 26 minutes when he first started out. If you can't take inspiration from that, what can you? It's also the least likely to get you injured.