Run a race in the 5k to half marathon range and look at a few training calculators (Daniels, like Humphrey, tinman etc). Add like 5-10s/mi to be safe, especially if you raced in super shoes and great conditions
“For a very good tempo pace estimation, use: CURRENT 5K pace/.93 For example, for a 15:30 guy, use 300 seconds per mile/.93 = 322.5 or 5:23 pace For 'sub-tempo' add 10 seconds per mile. Those will get you very close to the target paces. I don't use HR as I varies from athlete to athlete. Better to guess slightly slower than faster for these training sessions.”
I use the Stryd pod and the critical power number it generates is essentially your lactate 2 and will give you power zone ranges as well. I know opinions vary on the Stryd but it marries up almost exactly to my threshold heart rate zones and watches pace zones. It’s easy for me then to just look at the single number on my watch that will tell me if I’m running too fast or too slow. If I’m above my critical power number of say 412, then I know to back off.
I apologize as this is sort of a roundabout answer to your question but it’s another option to really dial in your threshold training, so worth having a look. And no, I do not work for Stryd lol.
“For a very good tempo pace estimation, use: CURRENT 5K pace/.93 For example, for a 15:30 guy, use 300 seconds per mile/.93 = 322.5 or 5:23 pace For 'sub-tempo' add 10 seconds per mile. Those will get you very close to the target paces. I don't use HR as I varies from athlete to athlete. Better to guess slightly slower than faster for these training sessions.”
Absolute garbage.
As someone who uses both lactate and HR, I can tell you that pace varies far more from day to day than either of the other two metrics.
If you figure out your HR at LT1 and LT2, you can be pretty sure that it'll produce a certain lactate value.
Pace, however, can vary by 20-30 seconds/mile depending on the level of fatigue, the weather, the workout, etc.
And sub-T (or LT1) definitely isn't 10 secs slower per mile than LT2 in most runners. It's more like 40 secs/mile slower for most.
Unless you're under 70-min for the half marathon then race a 10km or 15km instead.
What you can run in a flat, decent weather 10km race OR 15km race (all out for 35min to 50-min for example) is probably going to be closer to true Lactate Threshold pace/velocity than your Half Marathon Pace...
Good workouts for the Threshold? Well for 1500m to 5km it's more Daniels style "Cruise intervals" that are your friend.
You could do a straight up evenly paced 20-min Tempo Run also though....or 3 x 2-miles LT with a 3-4min rest.
But also do
8x 1km at LT with a short 1-min rest.
3 x 8min LT with a short 2-3min rest.
5 x 1-mile at LT with a 1.5min rest etc.
The key is controlled, even pacing (or slight negative split) and taking relatively short rest breaks. Remember it's more like an "85% effort" feeling and a few notches slower than something actually intense like Vo2max. You should be able to talk in complete words (well at least several at a time), but speaking in full sentences is too hard...
Unless you're under 70-min for the half marathon then race a 10km or 15km instead.
What you can run in a flat, decent weather 10km race OR 15km race (all out for 35min to 50-min for example) is probably going to be closer to true Lactate Threshold pace/velocity than your Half Marathon Pace...
Good workouts for the Threshold? Well for 1500m to 5km it's more Daniels style "Cruise intervals" that are your friend.
You could do a straight up evenly paced 20-min Tempo Run also though....or 3 x 2-miles LT with a 3-4min rest.
But also do
8x 1km at LT with a short 1-min rest.
3 x 8min LT with a short 2-3min rest.
5 x 1-mile at LT with a 1.5min rest etc.
The key is controlled, even pacing (or slight negative split) and taking relatively short rest breaks. Remember it's more like an "85% effort" feeling and a few notches slower than something actually intense like Vo2max. You should be able to talk in complete words (well at least several at a time), but speaking in full sentences is too hard...
I agree that for a lot of recreational runners their 10k result is likely closer (in seconds/mile) to the upper limit of their LT2.
However, for the purpose of threshold training, it's better to be under than to be even slightly over. Therefore, their half marathon pace will at least put them in their threshold range (between LT1 and LT2).
This might change once you get out over 2 hours, but I don't think this is the case for the OP (I'm yet to meet a 2hr+ half marathoner that's curious about blood lactate testing).
threshold is not a pace. You can reach threshold at different paces, depending on the design of the workout
Very true, although usually when people talk about threshold pace they're asking about 1-hour race pace, so they can use it for intervals of 1 mi up to 25 minutes or so.
For non-steady-state threshold workouts, I'm a fan of things like alternating 100m @ 1500 pace with 300m @ steady pace (similar to marathon pace). I think 1 min/mile slower than 5k pace is a good place to start for "steady," although some runners will probably be closer to 40 sec/mile. You could do similar things like 200 @ 1500/600 steady or 200 @ 3k/ 200 steady. I would do any of these workouts for set amount of time, rather than focusing on reps. That time could be anywhere from 15 mins to 30 mins depending on your level. All of the workouts I listed are continuous. The steady running is the "rest." Done at the right intensity, lactate levels should stay somewhere in the threshold zone (between LT1 and LT2) for the whole workout.
Need the best way to find threshold pace without blood sample testing, also good threshold workouts for 1500/5000m
Blood sample testing doesn’t have to be complicated or need a lab. Just prick yourself with a needle and taste your blood. If it tastes like almonds, you are at or above lactate threshold.
The key is controlled, even pacing (or slight negative split) and taking relatively short rest breaks. Remember it's more like an "85% effort" feeling and a few notches slower than something actually intense like Vo2max. You should be able to talk in complete words (well at least several at a time), but speaking in full sentences is too hard...
This is all you need to know. Calculating optimal training paces is for pros who are reaching the limits of performance and slow nerds who are overthinking everything.
Yeah, the level of precision for some of the recommended workouts is over the top. When I ran, there were days where I was laboring to run intervals, and others where the same workout felt easy. I remember a Kenyan saying that if they felt good, they ran fast.