Track Intervals and Pace Intervals?

I suggest you set aside some time and read this (and the related threads linked in there).  It's sound advice, pretty thorough and will give you a much better idea about why you are doing any specific workout.

perfect! I have plenty of time to read, just need to know where to look for good advice.
Thanks! 

I think you're trying to do too many things in one workout.

Firstly, I wouldn't do intervals as fast or as hard as I could. You should always feel fluid and smooth while running intervals; train don't strain. I have found that if people focus on pushing as hard as they can, their form goes downhill real quick, and all they end up doing is beating up their body for minimal gain.

I would split out those "q" types, and make them into striders. Do a couple short repeats (100-200m) after your other runs during the week. Start by doing 3-4, then build up to 8-10. Focus on accelerating smoothly up to almost top speed, "floating" along for about a third, then ease back down. Full rest in between; the point is to get used to running smoothly at a higher effort. Don't time them, don't look at hr or pace or RPE. Just go with it and focus on form and turnover.

As for actual intervals, I would say that how you do them depends on what stage of training you are in. If this is "off season" or base building or whatever, then I would make the intervals pretty free-form. Once a week go to the track and run 3-4 laps per interval, at an effort level that feels like 5K effort. You could do pace if you want, but I wouldn't ever go much faster than current 5k pace right now. However, at this point in training, I wouldn't even go by pace. Longer intervals by effort.

If you're training for a specific race, and it's about 10-12 weeks out, then I would start getting more formal with the intervals. Length and quantity is going to vary depending on the race distance, so if you're running multiple races in a close proximity to each other, then I would focus on the longest one, then the furthest one out. For a shorter distance race, focus on shorter intervals, but higher numbers of them, and reverse that for longer distances (longer distance, fewer numbers).

Thanks Scout. Lots of information here. need to digest....

Yeah I am trying to do too much at once. There is no doubt I am improving (rapidly) at the short distance (5k and 10k efforts), however, I have noticed that I get some muscle imbalances and slight knee (very slight) pain after doing the track workouts. In the past I attributed it to the sharp ish turns on the track, figuring that there was some unwanted strain in my knee. The more I think about it now, especially with your post, I am probably hurting myself via terrible form while running hard.

I should note that my "all out effort" is controlled to start with (negative split every lap is the goal). By the end of the workouts, I think I am still losing my form from fatigue.

 

I'd say that the knee pain is most likely a combination of both form and the track itself. I've run in situations like that, and I always feel it. It's horrible, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. If you can, try to alternate directions on the track days. I know some tracks have a daily direction that changes, so you may have to adjust in that regard. You might also try swinging out as wide as you can, as the closer to the center you are, the more you're going to be leaning in and straining your knees.

And yes, negative splitting is a good way to go about it. You should finish your workout feeling like you could do one more at the same effort, or higher. Chances are you're going to cross that line more often than not, especially in the beginning. But as you go, you'll get better at figuring out the point when you should call it a day.

Yeah I have a really nice weekly training sched. Unfortunately its a fixed schedule, so I have been running same day at the track every week, thus, same direction.
I will play around with my schedule and see if I can alternate the track workout between 2 different days.
Eventually I will get my sched and workouts here on BT. Just waiting for my TrainingPeaks membership to expire in about 1 month.

Thanks again for your input.