Ingebrigtsen Brothers – Key Training Sessions
Imagine being a 3:31:46 1500m runner and being the 3rd fastest in your family, let alone your country. That’s Henrik Ingebrigtsen. To put this into some sort of perspective, to gain an automatic qualification to the Olympics (provided ranked top 3 in the country) you need to run under 3:35.00 and 3:31.46 wins 99%+ of elite races globally.
The Ingebrigtsen brothers from Norway are a force to be reckoned with. Here are some statistics on the 3 brothers (as of September 2019) before we share some training insights:
Jakob – Age 19
1500m PB: 3:30.16
5000m PB: 13:02.03 (National Record)
Filip – Age 26
1500m PB: 3:30.01 (National Record)
5000m PB: 13:11.75
Henrik – Age 28
1500m PB: 3:31.46
3000m PB: 7:36:85 (National Record)
5000m PB: 13:15:38
In April 2018, Gjert Ingebrigtsen – farther and coach of the fastest three brothers on earth over 1500m published some information on the training of Jakob, Philip and Henrik in Norwegian language. Here are some of the key take aways from the document:
[Important note: the example training blocks are leading up to races, so they’re the final 14 days leading into a key race.]
* 11-12 training sessions/runs per week
* 2 days per week they will do 2 quality sessions in the same day – one in the morning and one in the evening. It’s a similar idea, in a way to Renato Canova’s Special Block but far less overall mileage. Example:
AM: 4 or 5 x 6min at threshold (assuming 1-2mins rest) – which for the brothers is around 2:55-3:00/km
PM: 20 x 400m (30-60sec rest) or 8-10 x 1 km (1min rest) at Threshold.
They measure their lactate levels during these sessions and try to keep them at around 3mmol/l
* Normally once per week they will do a training session at around 1500m pace. Example:
– 10x300m with 90sec rest in around 41-42 (approximately 1500m pace)
– 10x400m (times/recovery not mentioned, but assuming at close to 1500m pace)
* Recovery/easy days – runs of 8-12km often including drills, mobility, stretching
Example 1: AM 10km, PM 10km
Example 2: AM 10km, PM 8km + drills, mobility, stretching.
* In the final 3 days leading into a race, they will do a 2 short speed sessions. Assuming the race is on a Saturday – on the Wednesday they will hit the track for a short session involving 4mins of running at threshold and 8 short intervals running at around 1500m pace. The Thursday will involve 2 easy short runs and the Friday a very short workout involving 4 short repetitions.
Final 3 days leading into a key race:
Wednesday
AM: 8km easy
PM: 20min warm up, 2 x 2min threshold, 3x300m + 5x200m at 1500m pace
Thursday
AM: 30mins easy
PM: 30minns easy
Friday
AM: 200m, 150m, 2x120m fast with walk/jog back recovery.
PM: Rest
Saturday
AM; 15mins + 2 strides
PM: Race
If you enjoyed this article, you might also enjoy Training Insights From Norwegian Long Distance Runners: Ingebritsen brothers, Sondre Moen, Marius Bakken, Ingrid Kristiansen.
Suggested further reading: Sport In Depth – Young’s old record under siege
