Craig Mottram (12:55 5000m) Race Preparation Workout – 4 x 1600m Alternating Pace
Craig Mottram is arguably Australia’s greatest ever distance runner and one of the only westerner to challenge the Africans through the mid 2000’s. He took down athletes such as Kenenisa Bekele and Boniface Songkok in major races during his career and he still holds the Oceania Record for the 3000m (7:32.19) and 5000m (12:55.76). Only 6 athletes from the west have broken 13:00 for 5000m and Craig Mottram ranks a very close 2nd fastest out of those athletes.
Sweat Elite Founder Matt Fox did some training with the Melbourne Track Club (MTC) at their European training base in Teddington, London (UK) between 2007 and 2012 and assisted Mottram in some track workouts when he was approaching the World Championships and Olympic Games for the 5000m, while Mottram was training with the MTC.
One particular workout that Mottram seemed to favour when he was sharpening up for the major races:
4 x 1600m, with laps in 64, 64, 59, 64.
1600m goal time: 4:11-4:12, with the 3rd lap being well quicker than race pace. Recovery: 1 lap jog (around 2mins)
Mottram would complete this session at St Mary’s college in Teddington and usually have 2 pacers running with him to 800m (Fox usually did this) and 1200m (13:10 5000m runner from New Zealand, Adrian Blincoe was a name mentioned that helped a few times).
The times above were Mottram’s goal times and usually he could hit these times.
It’s a clever workout, instructed by MTC coach Nic Bideau, as the first 2 laps and the final lap are at around the pace the 5000m will be at the championships in the earlier to mid stages of the race: around 13:20 5000m pace.
5000m races tend to be tactical at major championships and this 63-65 second lap pace is right on the money. The 3rd lap is practising the mid race surge or the final wind up in the race.
This workout aimed to have Mottram both mentally and physically ready for the championship races. The total volume of the intervals was 6.4km with pace changes.
How to incorporate this into your own training to prepare for a championship race: Work out roughly what the pace will be in the 5000m race you’re about to race in, in the early/mid stage of the race. This can be difficult, as you never know how the race will pan out, but do your best to estimate this.
Let’s say the race will likely go out in 72 second laps. Try completing the same workout of 4 x 1600m, but with laps of 72, 72, 67, 72. Take the same recovery of 1 lap jogging in around 2-2.5mins.
Completing this workout a few times will hopefully have you ready to handle a pace change or a mid race surge during your race, as you’ve been practising it in training. It’ll also have you ready for a final kick down in a race, which is very common in 5000m championship races (non-paced races).
