As a running enthusiast, understanding the concept of lactate threshold can significantly enhance your performance. It’s never too late to start, and consistency is the key. Let’s delve into this complex yet crucial aspect of running physiology.
By delving into the intricacies of lactate thresholds in running, we can uncover a fascinating interplay of physiological factors that influence your running capacity. This understanding empowers you to maintain your performance and refine your training approach. It will put you in control of your running journey. First, let us understand blood lactate and how it relates to running pace.
What is blood lactate?
Blood lactate indicates the quantity of lactate that is present in the blood while one is running or training. When one exercises, the body produces lactate. If you are a runner, you must monitor your blood lactate levels. Knowing it can provide important information about the metabolic requirements needed during training or for participating in competitive sports.
When you run at low or moderate intensity, the body mainly uses aerobic metabolism, where lactate production and clearance are balanced. However, when the running intensity rises, the body’s capacity to eliminate lactate eventually falls short, leading to higher blood lactate levels. By graphing these variations in blood lactate in relation to the running pace, we can generate a blood lactate curve that shows two different lactate thresholds.
What is a lactate threshold?
Let us try to explain the lactate threshold here. As such, we can generate just enough lactate to maintain a steady condition of our body. That is because our body is designed to clear blood lactate to maintain a balance. This point is one of the lactate thresholds.
When we run or do any aerobic exercise, our body consumes a certain amount of energy, and our lactate threshold controls that. At lower intensities, you train below your lactate threshold, relying on oxygen for energy. As the intensity rises and your body shifts to using lactate, you are training above your lactate threshold.
While you are at rest, lactic acid production is minimal. However, as the runner increases their pace, lactic acid begins to accumulate. Once the intensity reaches a certain level, lactic acid concentrations spike to a point where they become unmanageable.
The Goal of lactate threshold training
Ultimately, the goal is to reach your lactate threshold and sustain that pace without shifting the balance towards excessive lactate production. Lactate threshold training allows your body to train at high intensities for extended periods without experiencing burnout.
It is critical to remember that running tempo alone impacts your lactate threshold less than the training intensity. For example, a runner may run an 8-minute mile efficiently on level terrain but tire out faster when they try to run at that same speed uphill. It is because the uphill run forces them to increase the intensity, pushing them closer to or beyond their lactate threshold.
Most top coaches and exercise physiologists recognize the critical role of lactate threshold for distance runners. It’s a crucial training element for any race longer than 400 meters, and its importance grows even more for longer distances. Your body needs practice to develop the necessary control to achieve optimal running speed and efficiency. Like other aspects of running improvement, this requires dedicated training to explore and enhance your capabilities fully.
How can you train your lactate threshold system?
Training your body to become more biologically efficient is a fascinating concept. By controlling your lactic acid generation, you can maintain faster running speeds without experiencing noticeable increases in blood lactate levels. This is the essence of lactate threshold training, a key component of any serious runner’s regimen.
To enhance your body’s ability to handle lactate, you should work out at or close to your lactate threshold. Your training must be intense enough to raise the lactate levels. While hitting this precise point can be challenging, it is achievable with focused effort. Additionally, specific workouts are designed to target and improve your lactate threshold, making this training even more practical.
Tempo workouts
These exercises are more often referred to as “tempos” or “tempo runs” than as “lactate threshold training”. These runs are shorter and moderately paced. By maintaining your pace to the ideal level, you can achieve the balance of generation and clearance of lactate. The aim is to prevent a significant lactate build-up in your bloodstream.
There are two main types of tempo training workouts:
- Continuous tempo runs
- Cruise intervals.
Continuous tempo runs involve maintaining a steady pace over a longer duration, which can help build confidence in your running. On the other hand, cruise intervals break the tempo run into smaller intervals, allowing you to accumulate more total volume while still managing the intensity.
Including tempo runs in your training once a week is ideal to enhance your threshold pace. Here are a few tempo workout variations tailored to different levels of running experience:
- Beginner: 2-3 miles at a time without stopping, with a 30-second jog break in between.
- Recreational: 3 to5 miles at a steady pace or 4 X 1.5 miles at a pace with a 30-second jog in between each repetition
- Advanced: 5–10 miles at a steady pace or 3-4 miles at a pace with a 30-second jog between each repetition.
While the choice of tempo workouts is ultimately up to you, each type offers unique benefits. For instance, a single long, continuous tempo run without breaks is most effective if you aim to push your lactate threshold.
On the other hand, breaking the tempo into smaller segments with brief recovery periods can be more manageable and beneficial if you are new to tempo runs. Additionally, dividing the tempo into multiple intervals can help accumulate a greater total distance for those looking to increase overall running mileage.
Remember that tempo workouts can vary in intensity depending on the runner, but these suggested variations provide a solid starting point for your training.
Determining the right pace for tempo runs
There are different ways to ensure accuracy when determining if you are running at your lactate threshold pace. The most accurate method involves blood sampling while running on a treadmill. This method allows for precisely identifying lactate spikes in response to your running intensity. It is important to remember, too, that this method can be expensive and uncomfortable for certain people.
A less invasive method is the 7-word talk test, which is straightforward. During a tempo run, say a 7-word phrase, such as “I hold these truths to be self-evident.” (We realize this phrase is technically eight words, but the hyphenated term counts as one word, so it works for the test.)
If you find it challenging to complete the phrase or if you start gasping for air, you’re likely running too fast. Your breathing rate correlates directly with blood lactate levels, so erratic or labored breathing while saying the phrase indicates that your tempo pace might be too intense.
Running faster than your tempo pace can turn into a different type of workout entirely, often leading to significant fatigue by the end. If you keep going at this increased level, you’ll struggle as the workout continues.
It’s crucial to avoid overexerting yourself because doing so will cause an uncomfortable burning feeling linked to an excessive accumulation of lactate. Finally, you can determine your ideal tempo pace by using a tempo chart, a tempo calculator, or by conducting a time trial.
Jack Daniels, Ph.D is widely recognized for his research on training paces and lactate threshold. He has developed a pace chart that estimates your tempo pace based on extensive research and testing with runners (often involving blood tests). Fortunately, you don’t need to go through the same process yourself because Daniels has already done the hard work for you!
Online calculator
If you prefer not to handle the calculations, Runners World provides an online calculator to determine your tempo pace. Enter your most recent personal record (PR) and running distance, and it will compute your ideal training pace for tempo runs and various other workouts.
Alternatively, you can establish your tempo pace by running a 1-hour trial. For more advanced runners, a 10K race can also be a reliable predictor of your tempo pace.
Once you have established your tempo pace, the crucial aspect of this training is to maintain the correct pace and intensity. By consistently adhering to your tempo pace, you will effectively enhance your body’s ability to clear blood lactate and improve overall efficiency.
Conclusion
Understanding and training your lactate thresholds are crucial for optimizing endurance performance. Understanding blood lactate subtleties and implementing tailored tempo exercises can improve your body’s ability to regulate lactate levels.
Training continuously at or close to your lactate threshold will help you maintain quicker speeds and enhance your overall performance, regardless of your experience level. I hope this post helps you to modify your training method to maximize your lactate thresholds.