Threshold Training

There is no "most important type of training" in cross country.  Each training type has its place. However, there are training types that have more "bang for your buck" than others.  Some of the most effective training that we do is running at paces that are right around the Anaerobic Threshold.  There are a ton of names given to this type of training, but the one that gets thrown around the most is TEMPO

Tempo is kind of a meaningless term if you don't know what benefit you're supposed to be getting from it.  Before you go any further, go back and read The Lactic Acid Boogeyman from last month.  Then look at this chart again.

Tempo training, in general, means training done right around the intensity that brings you to LTP2 on this graph.  I would like to be a little more specific when I assign workouts to you guys, so I want to give you some more terms to add to your training vocabulary.

Arthur Lydiard introduced the
world to Tempo Training, but
called it HSS (Highest Steady
State)

Tempo:

Tempo means that you should run at a pace that does not cause lactic acid to continue to build with every minute you run.  A well trained marathoner could run at this pace for over 2 hours. I'll usually ask you guys to run somewhere around 30-40 minutes at this pace.  For most of you guys, tempo pace is probably equal to 75%-82% of the pace you achieved on your 6 minute test runs. Please use our team PACE CHARTS to find your tempo speed.


The reason that tempo running is valuable is that the cells outside of your leg muscles are getting used to dealing with lactic acid as it is produced by your running muscles.  Tempo pace is great for this because you can hold it for a relatively long time and your cells can get lots of practice dealing with the lactic Acid.

For a quick reference, we'll use 80% on the pace chart for Tempo.  An assigned Tempo run might be "30 minutes @ 80%"

Threshold:
Threshold is the pace that corresponds the the speed that will cause your body to reach LTP2 on the chart above.  For most of you, threshold is likely from 80%-88% on our chart.  The benefits of running at threshold are pretty much the same as running at tempo effort.  However, at threshold, you get the added bonus of developing a sense of when your body actually reaches LTP2.  Feeling that borderline is tough.  It takes a lot of practice to feel that borderline, but being able to feel it in a race is SUPER important.

For a quick reference, we'll use 85% on the pace charts for Threshold.  An assigned Threshold workout might be "20 minutes @ 85%"

Critical Velocity

This is a pace that is just a little bit faster than threshold.  The magic of critical velocity (CV) is that when you run at that pace, you are going fast enough that your body cannot process all of the lactic acid your legs are producing and the acidity of your blood begins to build.  As a result of training at this pace, your body will get good at dealing with the lactic acid produced in a race.

The beauty of CV pace is that it is still slower than most of your race paces, so you should be able to do a fair amount of work at that pace without it being too hard. For most of you guys, CV pace should fall somewhere between 85%-92% on your pace chart.

For a quick reference, we'll use 90% on the pace charts.  Because we're running at a pace fast enough that lactic acid levels will rise unchecked, we'll need to take breaks in the workout. An assigned CV workout might be "6 x 3 minutes at CV with 1 minute of rest"


In Summary
These paces are valuable because

1. They aren't super fast so you can do them for a long time
2. Training at these paces teaches your body what to do with the lactic acid that is being produced.
3. In general: Tempo is just below LTP2, Threshold is right at LTP2, and CV is just above LTP2

Happy running everyone.