Training Tips – Threshold running

By Tim Warn

In the last edition I covered speed work sessions designed to increase a runners’ VO₂max. In this article I now deal with stamina workouts designed to increase lactate threshold.

It has always been understood that increasing one’s VO₂max lead to faster running times, but more recently it has been recognised that raising lactate threshold is equally important. Some elite runners do not have a particularly high VO₂max but because they have very high lactate thresholds they are able to produce world class times. So what is ‘lactate threshold’? If you have a high lactate threshold you can run faster for longer before your muscles give up. We will all be familiar with setting out too fast at the start of a race leading to a rapid build-up of lactic acid in the muscles resulting in blowing up completely. So lactate threshold is the point at which your body starts the rapid build up of lactic acid in the muscles.

The goal therefore is to train your body so that the point at which you reach lactate threshold is raised. You need to develop your ability to run at a steady pace for longer periods of time. This increases your lactate threshold and leads to faster race times. So how do we do this? Well, we train at, or close to, our lactate threshold pace which, depending on the type of session selected, is about your half marathon race pace (or your 10k race pace plus 12 seconds). This actually works out quite accurately. For example my best half marathon time this year was 1.34.36 which is 7m13s per mile, whilst my best 10k time this year was 43m13s which is 7m 00s per mile. So my standard threshold pace is about 7m13s per mile.

You should aim to do one lactate threshold workout each week. There are a number of types of workouts which can be used, and the pace should be adjusted depending upon which type you use.

First there are steady-state runs. These are runs of between 4M and 10M, and should be run a little slower than your half marathon pace, especially as you get to the longer distances. So using me as an example, my standard threshold pace is 7m13s per mile but I would run these steady-state runs at upto 7m30s per mile. Sticking consistently to the pace is important so you need to keep concentration on these types of runs, or make good use of your Garmin.

The second type of lactate threshold workout is called the tempo run. Here you run 3M – 4M at your standard threshold pace. So again using me as an example, I would do these sessions at my half marathon pace of 7m13s per mile. The pace should be comfortably hard (sometimes referred to as “running in the zone”), so don’t push the pace too much.

Tempo intervals are the third type of lactate threshold workout. Here you run 2 or 3 repetitions of between 1.5M and 2M slightly faster then your standard threshold pace (about your 10k pace). I would do these sessions at 7m00s per mile. Between each repetition have a 4 – 6minute recovery or recovery jog. The pace here is quite hard so it is important to take the full recovery.

In all of these three types of sessions you should have at least 1M warm-up and warm-down. Also it is important that you are not tempted to run these sessions faster than the set pace. Running these sessions faster will only shorten the length of time you spend on the session. What you should be aiming to do in these sessions is to run further at the set pace, rather than run faster. You can of course review your training pace when your half marathon and 10k race times have improved.

I find these types of session are really good when preparing for races at the 10k, 10M and half marathon distances, so if you have not tried this type of session before, do give it a go. As with speed work sessions, if you have not done this type of session before then you should build up progressively so as to avoid breakdown due to injury or illness.