If you’ve ever started a race too fast, only to completely bonk halfway through, then you need a progression run on your training schedule. A progression run basically means you get faster with each effort, whether you’re doing a form of a tempo run or interval work.
Runner’s World coach, Jess Movold, chose intervals for this 30-minute treadmill progression run, giving you short recovery breaks between work periods—and requiring you to hit a quicker pace with each effort.
The Benefits of a Progression Run
“A progression run provides an excellent opportunity to practice what it feels like to negative split,” says Coach Jess. That means your average speed in the second half of a race is faster than the first half.
The reason a progression helps with that negative split: It teaches you control. “You are holding a specific pace, rather than a max-out effort/speed. It takes control and practice to learn paces and execute them on race day,” Coach Jess adds.
Getting to know what specific paces feel like, and how to hold onto them, is also one of the advantages of doing this progression run on a treadmill, specifically. The numbers are right in front of you, so, as Coach Jess says, you can’t hide from them—you have to keep pushing through. “This teaches discipline and awareness,” she says. “When you set the pace to something uncomfortable, focus on mental control, excellent form, and then just settle in and keep going.”
In addition to better pacing technique, a progression run can help you with a finishing kick at the end of a race. It helps you build the power and stamina required to pick up the pace on tired legs. As you increase your speed with each round in this workout, and fatigue settles in, you teach the body and mind to keep moving. “By the third round, you’re going to feel exhausted and tired,” Coach Jess says. “Pushing hard in the final one-minute effort will help teach your body how to muster strength and resilience just like when you see the finish line [and hit a high gear].”
One final benefit comes from running on the treadmill itself. You get to forget about the weather, terrain, wind, or other runners and instead focus on what’s in front of you—learning, practicing, and executing your interval paces, Coach Jess says, sans distractions.
“In short, this workout will teach you pacing, increase your ability to work hard, generate endurance and speed, and boost mental stamina,” she adds.
How to Do This 30-Minute Treadmill Progression Run
Start your workout with a six-minute easy jog or walk. This should be at a super easy pace—something you can run while also having a conversation.
Then you have three rounds of intervals, with 60 seconds of rest between each effort. The first three minutes of effort require your threshold or half-marathon pace, going for about a 80% of your all-out effort. The next two-minute effort interval calls for a 10K pace or about 85% of your all-out effort. And the final minute means kicking it up to 5K pace, or about 90% of your all-out effort. To make it a little easier, each of these intervals should be at a pace that’s about 10 to 15 seconds faster than the previous push.
Finish up your workout with a cool down, which could mean a jog or walk. Foam rolling or stretching works, too.
30-Minute Progression Run
Follow along in the video above as Coach Jess talks you through an overview of this workout. But here’s the gist:
- 6-minute warmup
- 3 rounds:
- 3 min @ half marathon pace
- 60s rest
- 2 min @ 10K pace
- 60s rest
- 1 min @ 5K pace
- 60s rest
- Cooldown as you see fit
Mallory Creveling, an ACE-certified personal trainer and RRCA-certified run coach, joined the Runner's World and Bicycling team in August 2021. She has more than a decade of experience covering fitness, health, and nutrition. As a freelance writer, her work appeared in Women's Health, Self, Men's Journal, Reader's Digest, and more. She has also held staff editorial positions at Family Circle and Shape magazines, as well as DailyBurn.com. A former New Yorker/Brooklynite, she's now based in Easton, PA.
