Once the season begins, most teams reduce their mileage and incorporate interval training. Interval training will allow your coach to introduce you to anaerobic training. The word anaerobic means without oxygen. If you've had trouble catching your breath, you've been short of oxygen. The success of anaerobic training hinges on a sound base mileage of aerobic training.
Shortcuts can lead to a variety of injuries.
A coach can be creative with anaerobic workouts, using distances ranging from 200 meters to 1000 meters. Some teams go as high as 1600 meters. The pace of these workouts is much faster than what you might do on a long run or a tempo run. The intensity of these workouts will maximize the stress on both your cardiovascular and respiratory systems. However, these intense workouts will force your body to process oxygen more efficiently.