Originally Posted by
dominion
^^This!^^ I don't see the value of short sprints - eg, much below 400m reps to increase speed over 5K and above. Back when I used to train properly the key elements were short intervals, eg 12 x 400, 6 x 800, 3 x mile (eg, 3 miles worth of efforts + warm up / warm down), a tempo run of between 2 and 4 miles, again warm up for 2-3 miles then tempo then 2-3 miles cool off, and a long steady run on Sunday, typically 15ish miles at a steady pace. To put this into context, I was running 70ish miles a week with a couple of days running twice which I realise may not be achievable for some people due to time constraints. That said, I think the fundamental, short intervals, tempo, steady runs still holds true. If you can't have a chat to your training partners on a steady run - it ain't steady enough!