Ron Daws On Beginning Track Work

Those who are familiar with this site recall that I have referenced Ron Daws previously.He was a member of the 1968 U.S. Olympic marathon team.His list of pr's prior to making the squad would be at best be described as unremarkable. Ron was an example of what persistence and determination could accomplish.He also wrote one of the truly great books on running,The Self-Made Olympian.Here he gives some sound advice on how to begin training on the track.Track work has to be approached carefully and with a certain degree of restraint at first. Four sets of 4 --400 meter reps all out,for most,is not the way to begin but you see people doing this all the time. Here's what Ron says:
"When first going on the track,capitalize on what you have most of, endurance and stamina.Therefore, do not start with fast runs or sprints,no matter how anxious you may be to test yourself after two or three months on the roads.Track training should evolve from high volume,relatively slow work with short rests to faster,shorter workouts with more rest,and finally to fast workouts with little rest.Cutting out all rest from an interval workout leaves a time-trial or a race.
The best introductory interval workout I've devised is the following:
Two mile jog; two x 220,two x 440,two x 660,two x 880, 220 jog after each;1320(3 laps),880 meter jog, two x 880,two x 660,two x 440, two x 220,220 jog after each; two mile warm down jog."
You can tell the age of this schedule by the fact yards are used instead of meters.
Daws does not recommend using a watch the first few times you do this workout.The reasons why should be obvious,one,you don't want to be so preoccupied with time that you run too hard before you are ready,and two,you avoid becoming discouraged when your initial times don't meet your expectations because this is a new phase of your training.
Take a look at what the total mileage is for this workout,this type of training is going to make you fit and ready to race.