A big fallacy is that there is such thing as lactate threshold despite an abundance of well-tested research to the contrary. LT does not exist, yet many well-respected coaches pretend it does.
Tim Noakes on the subject:
“This mistaken conclusion resulted from at least 2 errors. First, too few blood samples were measured. For example, if only 4 blood samples had been drawn at running speeds of 10, 14, 16, and 20 km per hour, then a fictitious anaerobic threshold would have been identified at 15.5 km per hour. But measuring blood lactate concentrations repeatedly – for example every km per hour – shows that blood lactate concentrations rise exponentially without any evidence of a threshold phenomenon.”
“It is clear that the blood lactate concentrations do not show a clearly defined, abrupt threshold response during exercise of progressively increasing intensity. Rather, blood lactate concentrations begin to rise as soon as progressive exercise commences. However, at low intensities, the rate of the increase is so low that it is barely noticeable. Only when the exercise becomes more intense does the rise become apparent, which perhaps explains the erroneous impression that blood lactate concentrations increase abruptly when the lactate threshold is reached.”
“For these reasons, the term anaerobic threshold, lactate threshold, and lactate turnpoint are no longer justifiable”(4)