Feel the Burn
Training above your lactate threshold can teach your body to push harder for longer periods of time.
Most runners still believe that lactic acid is released during hard or unaccustomed exercise and that this is what limits running performance, as well as being the cause of stiffness. Neither is correct. But not even is the terminology of “lactic acid”.
Studies have shown that we’ve had it all wrong about lactic acid. Most lactic acid is quickly removed after exercise, and it isn’t to blame for postrace soreness. The soreness is a result of microtrauma (small tears) to the muscles. And, turns out, it isn’t useless either; lactic acid contains an important fuel source for high-intensity running.
With the right training, you can delay the onset of lactic acid accumulation, and improve your body’s capacity to use it for fuel.
During light and moderate-intensity exercise, the blood concentration of lactate remains low. The body is able to absorb lactate faster than the muscle cells are producing it. However, as exercise intensity increases, there comes a point at which lactate removal fails to keep up with the rate of lactate production. This point is referred to as the lactate threshold and spells the beginning of the end of high intensity exercise.
Excessive blood lactate and hydrogen ion concentrations combine to interfere with efficient and proper muscle contraction, and as a result, power output drops, suffering increases and you are forced to slow down.
Fortunately, you can train your body to become better at buffering hydrogen ions so you can run harder and delay the time it takes for that burning to set in. This is done by running beyond lactate threshold-the intensity at which lactic acid begins to accumulate in the blood. This also trains the body to become better at using lactic acid as a fuel.
Interval sessions and track workouts train your body to more efficiently process lactic acid into a fuel, and at the same time, improve your capacity to buffer those hydrogen ions. All of which will help you run faster, longer.
Lactic-acid threshold workouts
Most marathoners and especially those looking to improve their time, perform interval workouts once or twice per week. The Yasso 800′s workout is an excellent session to improve your lactate threshold. Another common marathon speed workout are one mile repeats 15 seconds faster than goal pace.
While both of those are great workouts, I encourage you to try one of the following workouts every two or three weeks instead of an interval session. Run the repeats at your 800-meter pace, or at about 90% of all out effort
1) 6 x 300m sprints, recover 2-minutes between each rep
2) 4 x400m sprints, recover 2-minutes between each rep
3) 8 x 200, recover 90 seconds between eaach
Again, if you increase your lactate threshold, you will be able to run faster and put the hurt on your former race time, friends and fellow competitors. Good luck!
Posted by admin | in Faster Marathon Time, Marathon, Run Training | 4 Comments
HIJill,
What is the diff between the workout you suggest above and interval session. What is Yasso’s workout considered, and interval workout?
What is your workout considered if not an interval workout.
Maybe if you could recap the different types of workouts and when to incorporate them into your training. I’m confused with the names: interval, track, speed, etc.
It doesn’t seem clear to me
Thanks
deb
Deb–sorry for the confusion. I get caught up in the running lingo. Interval sessions are generally between 400 and 1600 meters in length. Basically, what runners do for speed training. The distances can vary week by week. The Yasso’s 800s are considered intervals. His theory is whatever pace you can do 10x800m repeats, will equal your overall marathon time. For example, if you run each 800m repeat in 3 minutes and 30 seconds, that is the time you can expect to finish a marathon: 3 hours and 30 minutes.
Intervals and track sessions are one in the same. I use both words interchangeably. For me personally, track workout means 400m intervals or less. Either way, both track workouts and intervals are working on speed. My suggestion for the lactate threshold workout is considered a speed workout. Not something to be done each week, but can replace an interval workout once a month. Hope this helps clarify things for you
THanks, great and informative post. I tried Yasso’s in my prep. for my last marathon and I think they really helped. Ordinarily, we’ve done 1200 for our marathon prep. Is one better than the other?
Meg, thats great. I don’t think one is better over another. In fact, I would incorporate both in a training program. One week do Yasso’s the next week do 1200′s. It’s always great and beneficial to vary the workouts in order to keep the body guessing and adapting to a variety of workouts.