Quote:
Originally Posted by FrogMan
I just now saw why Daniels and Higdon time are similar when reading the last sentence of Daniels' explanation. I had never read his explanation all the way to that last period. 
Until this training cycle, I had never really walked in between interval reps but seeing the 11 and 12 reps the plan called for, I felt it probably would be a better idea to push hard during the interval, then fully rest in between. Doing 150m of walking then 150m of easy jog usually gives me between 2:15 and 2:25 of rest which I think is quite reasonable compared to intervals that take me between 1:24 and 1:33...
I also realize that this week's interval session might have only seemed slower because I was probably more relaxed, as Daniels describe it.
FM
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I may have missed it, or you may already be aware of it, but it took me a while before I finally figured out the difference between the different measures for Daniels calculators. Repetition pace really is meant for training for shorter/faster racing. It is not meant to be what marathoners or long distance runners use for their intervals. We really want to stick to the interval pace time for our intervals.
The 100% goal of intervals is to stress the V02max capabilities of our system. Daniels' opinion is the best way to do that is to stress that system. So the interval pace is designed to be the right pace that your body needs to be able to put your heart rate into v02max territory for anywhere from 2-5 minutes. He says it is very ineffective to push it in that territory longer than 5 minutes which is why the walk breaks are recommended. The walk break needs to be long enough to drop your HR but not too long to the point where you can't get your HR back up to V02max in the next interval.
His comments are that running harder than interval pace does not improve your v02max any more or any faster, and will likely just tire you or increase chance of injury though.
I know that I had for a while ran my intervals too quickly without understanding that.