Treadmill Threshold Workouts

By Gale Bernhardt
For Active.com

At some point this winter nearly everyone has experienced cold weather. The third week in January, the only spot in the nation that wasn't blue (meaning really cold) on the weather map was southern Florida.

The chilly weather has driven triathletes and runners indoors to hit the treadmills. If the cold hasn't driven you to the treadmill, perhaps it is the promise of performance later in the season that has you happy as a hamster to run nowhere.

I've outlined the following three-week progression of workouts. Depending on how you decide to run the sessions (more on that later), you can do one or more of the following:

• Maintain your leg speed when outdoor runs on ice don't allow you to run fast
• Improve your lactate threshold heart rate
• Improve your lactate threshold speed
• Improve leg strength
• Get a high quality workout completed in 45 minutes

You will do one workout each week for three weeks. It is best if you begin following a rest week, and the first treadmill session is in the first week of your new training cycle.

Workout #1

Warm up at zero to one percent incline for 20 minutes at a pace that is completely aerobic. This would be marathon pace or slightly slower.

After the warm-up, run five repeats that are three minutes in length. Jog an easy one minute recovery interval (RI) between each running interval. For the run intervals, put the treadmill speed at your best 10k pace from last season.

Run the first three minutes at zero incline, the second repeat at one percent, the third at two percent, the fourth at three percent and the final repeat back to zero incline. Cool down with easy jogging for the remaining time to total 45 minutes.

5 x 3 minutes (1 minute RI) at 0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, and finish with 0% incline.

Modifiers

• For your one minute easy jogging interval, slow the treadmill down and reduce the speed so you can get your heart rate down quickly. If you have to walk to recover, your run interval speed is too fast.

• For those just beginning to work on their lactate thresholds, your heart rate at the end of the first repeat should be roughly 13 beats below your lactate threshold heart rate. Your heart rate will slowly climb throughout each work bout so you finish the last incline interval at three beats below threshold heart rate. The entire work portion is done at lactate threshold heart rate minus 13 to minus three beats. (Yes, the 13 is first intentionally because I don't want you to begin too fast.)
• For those that already have some threshold work under your sweat-wicking garments this season, your heart rate should be roughly ten beats below your lactate threshold heart rate at the end of the first repeat. Your heart rate will slowly climb throughout each work bout so you finish the last incline interval at three beats above threshold heart rate. The entire work portion is done at lactate threshold heart rate minus ten to plus three beats. (Yes, the ten is first intentionally because I don't want you to begin too fast.)
• If this is your first season of speed work or it has been awhile since you've done speed work, remove the three percent incline interval in Workout #1 and all other workouts -- so you do one less repeat than shown.
• As you progress through the three workouts, try to keep within the heart rate guidelines I've outlined. For some people, this may mean slowing the treadmill pace down. For others, it may mean increasing the treadmill speed -- so you're going slightly faster than your best 10k pace from last season.
• The perceived exertion rate of each running interval should be moderately difficult. At the end of each run interval, you should not be gasping for breath but also not be able to sing a tune while breathing and sounding perfectly normal (normal for you, that is.)

Workout #2

Warm-up at zero to one percent incline for 20 minutes at a pace that is completely aerobic. After the warm-up, run five repeats that are four minutes in length. Jog an easy one minute between each running interval. Put the treadmill speed at your best 10k pace from last season.

Run the first four minutes at zero incline, the second repeat at one percent, the third at two percent, the fourth at three percent and the final repeat back to zero incline. Cool down with easy jogging for the remaining time to total 45 minutes.

5 x 4 minutes (1 minute RI) at 0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, and finish with 0% incline.

Workout #3

Warm-up at zero to one percent incline for 20 minutes at a pace that is completely aerobic. After the warm-up, run four repeats that are five minutes in length. Jog an easy two minutes between each running interval. Put the treadmill speed at your best 10k pace from last season. Run the first four minutes at zero incline, the second repeat at one percent, the third at two percent and the fourth at three percent. Cool down with easy jogging for the remaining time to total 45 minutes.

4 x 5 minutes (2 minute RI) at 0%, 1%, 2% and finish with 3% incline.

Repetition leads to improvement (in you and the weather)

After you complete the third workout and have a recovery week, you can repeat the workout series once per week for your next training block -- if you have the time and need to do so. If you decide to repeat the series, one option is to see if you can increase the treadmill speed and still stay within the heart rate guidelines.

After completing one or two rounds of the workout series, you should see one or more of the improvements listed earlier in the column. Take note of the speeds you ran and the associated heart rates if you use a heart rate monitor. You can use this data for subsequent running workouts this season and as a starting point for workouts next season.

I'm hoping that by the time you complete the workout series, we all see an improvement in the cold weather. Warm weather and spring racing is not that far away.