Saturday
Threshold
Warm-up: 10min
Workout: 3x2000m zone 3, with 5min rest in between
Cool down: 10min zone 1
What is the goal of this workout?
- Improve your anaerobic threshold: A weak anaerobic threshold is one of the biggest obstacles to a good 1500m to half-marathon performance. If you feel that getting out of breath (entering the red zone without turning back) limits the speed/tempo at which you can run a 1500m to half-marathon, it is usually because your anaerobic threshold is not high enough. That's why these workouts are crucial in your build-up. Indeed, they are the most important workouts of your entire training program!
Guidelines
Read carefully! Running too fast (or too slow) will not improve your threshold as much as planned. If you are completely out of breath after a repetition and feel that you could barely run faster, you are going too fast. In that case, you are training your VO2max, which is different from your threshold. Your threshold pace is a 'comfortably hard' pace, a pace you should be able to maintain for 50-60 minutes. It is a pace at 85-90% of your maximum heart rate.