My Top 3 Threshold Sessions
In recent months I've become a bit obsessed with threshold training. My own running journey followed a familiar pattern adopted by many club runners.
Focusing primarily on pace as my key metric, especially for interval sessions. This notion that we have to push our limits every time we do a track session, was my understanding of how to get better.
It worked to be fair. Reducing my 5k times from over 30 minutes, to my current PB of 19:15. So that approach does deliver results.
But what if there is a better way? What if threshold training can make me even quicker. I am keen to find out. The more threshold sessions I do, the more I believe this could be the answer.
Just recently I did two interval sessions in the space of a week. The post run data was very similar, in terms of time run and my average pace. There was one real variable though, recovery.
From the threshold session I felt fresh the next day, like I was able to carry on my training and crack on. From the VO2 Max session I did, at 5k pace, I had tightness all in my achilles & calves as well as feeling fatigued.
It makes sense too. Threshold training is working at a lower heart rate and effort. My current lactate threshold, the point you want to stay below in these training sessions, is a heart rate of 163.
For the 5k session I was pushing the heart rate to the mid 170s. The demand was much greater.
How was the pace the same? I'll explain below with my 3 favourite sessions.
1. 16 x 400 Metres (30 seconds recoveries)
Remember the key for threshold training is to keep your heart rate below LT2. If you get close to that, without going over, you know you are still working hard.
With these shorter reps you should find you can get close to 5k pace for the majority of the session whilst keeping that heart rate under control. That is exactly what I found. It wasn't until late in rep 10 that my heart rate came close to LT2.
I had alerts on my Garmin to warn me when I got within 2 BPM of LT2, so at that point I had to slow down. But I was still comfortably under my current 10k pace.
The short recoveries ensure your heart rate doesn't have time to drop too low so you'll stay in that threshold Zone (Z4 on Garmin).
You are banking 6.4km of work here, at close to your 5k pace. Perhaps even on it, so you can see why this would lead to gains. It's still very challenging, but all the time you sit below your LT2, you should find the effort level is never more than 7/10.
2. 6 x 5 Mins (60 Secs Recovery)
A classic threshold session where you do 30 minutes of work, in shorter reps to ensure the heart rate stays under LT2.
What I found in this type of session is there will be a lag in your heart rate. So you might find doing the first 2 reps to pace is a better metric. For me, somewhere around 10k pace seems right, and come the end of rep 2 my heart rate should be getting close to LT2.
You can tweak the recoveries to best suit your level. Keep an eye on your heart rate at the start of each rep and if it's taking you too long to get back in your threshold zone, then reduce the recoveries by another 15 seconds. Or vice versa if your heart rate goes too high too quickly in each rep.
3. 7 x 1km Reps (60 Secs)
Probably my favourite session to date. I tend to perform best working to distance as it focuses my mind on where I need to get to and I like to view my splits.
I did this on a beautiful August evening in our local park. We have a nice 1km loop which I just repeat. I set up the session on my Garmin with heart rate alerts. So I knew when I was in the right zone, I could check my lap times and also see what my heart rate was at the end of each rep.
On my first attempt at this I was actually running quicker than 10k pace and still had a nice buffer under my LT2. So I pushed harder in my final rep, clocking my quickest split (4:07/km) and not once did I go above my lactate threshold.
After this session my VO2 Max went up to 55. The highest it's been for some time and my 5k prediction dropped to 20:05, the lowest it's been since I picked up an injury post Chester marathon last October. So these sessions appear to be working.
If you are finding your speed work challenging, then perhaps give threshold training a try. You might find the demands are lower on the body and you recover quicker.