Pyramid intervals

Reps that climb in length to a peak and then come back down.

Also called: ladder intervals, up-and-down.

A pyramid gives you the same total dose as uniform intervals with more variety and a natural rhythm to hold onto. The descending half is where it earns its keep — the reps get shorter exactly as your legs get worse, so each one stays achievable and the session finishes rather than falling apart.

The session

Shown at a 4:00 marathon reference — 48 min total, about 7.8 km, including 16 min of quality work.

Warm-up

  1. 12 min easy (6:43–7:24/km)
  2. 4 × 20 s strides, jog back between

Main set

  1. 400 m @ 4:48/km (5K) — 1:55, 115 s/400 m lap
  2. 2 min jog
  3. 600 m @ 4:48/km (5K) — 2:53, 115 s/400 m lap
  4. 2 min jog
  5. 1000 m @ 4:48/km (5K) — 4:48, 115 s/400 m lap
  6. 2 min jog
  7. 600 m @ 4:48/km (5K) — 2:53, 115 s/400 m lap
  8. 2 min jog
  9. 400 m @ 4:48/km (5K) — 1:55, 115 s/400 m lap

Cool-down

  1. 10 min easy (6:43–7:24/km)

Why this session works

Up-then-down distances hold you near VO₂max across changing rhythms; the descent feels faster than it is, which keeps quality high late in the session.

Source: Billat 2001. Training phase: build.

Run it at your own paces

Open the workout generator and enter a recent race time — every rep length, recovery and target pace is recalculated for your fitness, and the session exports to .fit for a Garmin watch.

Frequently asked questions

What is a pyramid intervals?

Reps that climb in length to a peak and then come back down. A pyramid gives you the same total dose as uniform intervals with more variety and a natural rhythm to hold onto.

How long is this session?

At a 4:00 marathon reference it comes to 48 min and about 7.8 km, of which 16 min is prescribed quality work. The generator scales both to your own paces, so a faster runner covers more ground in the same time.

Who is this workout for?

It is written for the build phase of a marathon build. The distances shown suit a 4:00 marathoner; enter your own recent race time in the generator and every rep length and target pace is recalculated for you.

More vo₂max intervals sessions

  • VO₂max intervals — Repeats of two to five minutes at around the pace you could hold flat out for ten minutes, with equal or slightly shorter recoveries.
  • Cutdown intervals — Intervals that get shorter and faster as the session goes on.
  • 30/30 intervals — Thirty seconds hard, thirty seconds easy, repeated — accumulating time near VO₂max without the strain of long reps.
  • Hill repeats — VO₂max-effort intervals run uphill, with the gradient supplying the resistance and capping the impact.

See all 32 sessions in the library.