That Triathlon Show

Power Rankings - Our top-5 run sessions to improve triathlon running performance

Feb 5, 2026
A lively rundown of the top run sessions triathletes use to boost speed, VO2 and endurance. They cover hill repeats for power and form, descending fartleks to raise VO2 with less injury risk, and progressive threshold sets to build tempo durability. Treadmill hill-tempos and marathon-specific over-under rounds get special attention. Practical tips on pacing systems and session tradeoffs round out the talk.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
ADVICE

Marathon Over‑Under Sets

  • Do marathon-style over-under sets to train pacing and lactate handling around marathon pace.
  • Run 3–5 rounds of 5 km with alternating ±10–15s/km efforts and a steady last km as active recovery.
ADVICE

Hill Reps For VO2 And Form

  • Do 12×1-minute uphill reps at ~5–8% gradient with active jog recoveries to target VO2 and form.
  • Keep efforts RPE 8–9 and split into blocks if lactate accumulates too fast.
ADVICE

Descending Fartlek For High VO2

  • Use descending fartlek blocks (2:1.5:1:0.5 minute pattern) with active jog recoveries to raise VO2 safely.
  • Target ~5k pace on efforts and progress intensity in the second round.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app