Ikle, of course you can.
we do various speed sessions on a Tuesday, hills, fartlek, 1/4 laps x 10.
Saturday speed session though is miles every other week, half miles or quarters alternate the other weeks. Half miles are good ones for marathons since they're a few feet past 800metres, and yasso 800s are a known session for marathon timing/ rule of thumb (run 8-10 x 800s at 3:55 and maybe you can do a 3:55 marathon).
Miles we do 3 or 4 if time, warm up, then mile, then anywhere from 4-6 mins rest. If you want to develop speed, rest as long as the effort. Cool down.
Halfs 6 or 8, similar recoveries. If you do much shorter recoveries, then it's testing your endurance which you probably don't want now. If you want to really develop your short speed for 5k & 10k - (it will affect all distances ultimately) then rest same time or even longer, so maybe 3:30-4 mins+ for you? Quarters we do 12 or 16.
All 3 interval lengths can do in just over an hour. - sure its the session that got my times coming down so quick. And yes, it can hurt flat out. Press manual lap on your watch to mark stop start so you can analyse later and see your splits.
Pm me for any more info!
