If you’re wasting your first interval trying to find your threshold pace, this is for you
Most times when I’m running threshold intervals, my 10- to 20-minute warm-up jog isn’t enough to make me feel confident about my workout pace or fresh enough to hit it. I often wind up slogging through the first interval before actually hitting the intended pace.
This always left me feeling nervous about the workout ahead and lacking confidence in my ability to nail the pace. I accepted this fate until I spoke with an expert who pointed out a better way to get in touch with your threshold pace.
Marius Bakken, MD, a two-time Olympic distance runner and author of the recently released book, The Norwegian Method Applied, suggests testing your threshold pace for about three to five minutes at the end of your 10- to 20-minute warm-up. By testing your threshold effort for these couple of minutes, you can better lock into the ideal pace before you start the workout.
You also get a better reference point for how you’re feeling that day, which you might not get from an easy 10- to 20-minute warm-up alone.
Here’s how Bakken suggests evaluating your effort in those three to five minutes.
How to find your threshold pace
Green light
If you feel good and your heart rate is in zone 3 or 4, you can proceed with your workout or even consider adding a few intervals. For example, if your workout for that day lists a range, like four to six 800-meter efforts at threshold pace, you might opt for six.
Yellow light
If your pace is about 10 or more seconds off your ideal range or your heart rate is at the high end of zone 4, keep an eye on your pace and effort, stay conservative at the first round of your threshold intervals, and proceed with caution.
Red light
If you’re immediately struggling to hold your threshold pace for at least three minutes in your warm-up, consider cutting down your workout by a few intervals (go for three or four reps in the example above) or consider pushing the workout to another day if you feel you just need an extra rest day.
Bakken explains that the full threshold portion of your workout will typically range from 20 to 40 minutes total, depending on your fitness level, which is enough volume to help you get faster. If you test your pace in the warm-up and decide to opt for more or fewer intervals, always adjust the volume and not the pace. You want to maintain your consistent threshold speed throughout the entire session in order to gain the benefits.
If you exceed your threshold pace, you lose the specific adaptations like improving your speed endurance, so it’s important to zero in on it. The more you practice homing in your pace, the better you get at improving it.
Testing your threshold pace before non-threshold speed workouts is also smart, Bakken adds, because it’s a great way to fully warm up your system without going overboard and still give you an estimate of what you can handle that day. For example, if you run into a yellow or red light during that three- to five-minute threshold effort, it’s a good indicator you might struggle during a workout with higher speeds. So consider cutting your workout shorter or again, taking that extra rest day if you need to move it.
While it’s normal – and totally fine – to miss pace targets in speed workouts sometimes, giving them a test run in your warm-up could help you train smarter and unlock better performances on race day.
