Hi, it's Anna from the Running channel and I'm gonna be taking you along with me on a workout that you
need to try.
First though the warm up, make sure you give this video a like and subscribe to the running channel,
it's about to get sweaty.
Come on.
So we're starting off today's session with a 10 minutes.
Easy jog warm up.
So it's a perfect amount of time for me to tell you what today's session
is all about.
So we asked some of the world's top coaches from the training peaks
platform to tell us their favorite workouts.
And this one comes from Matt Fitzgerald.
So if you haven't heard about Fitzgerald, He wrote the book on 80/20 training.
So 80/20 training, is doing 80% of your
running at an easy intensity, with 20%
harder intensity.
So that's what I'm gonna be doing today. Intervals
are a great way for any runner of any ability
to get a really good workout on the go.
This is 48 minutes of running in total. I guarantee
It won't feel like you've been running for 48 minutes
So this is a lactate interval session.
Now, why lactate intervals?
Well, they really help your aerobic capacity aka
Vo2 max and with an improved VO2 max as a runner,
it improves your overall running fitness.
So this session is an absolute beauty because you can use it
if you're training for any distance really because it's quite unique and
the fact that you have really short reps and really short recoveries too.
Now there are some science behind the reasoning for the short reps and short
recoveries and that is because they've been proven
to increase the amount of time you can spend close
to your Vo2 max capacity.
So I'm coming to the end of my warm up now, it's quite windy.
Oh, very strong headwind
I've got three sets and eight by 30 second hard efforts.
With 15 second recoveries and five minute
jog recoveries between sets sounds nice and easy.
Hopefully I don't lose count.
So, set one just about to start and I've got 30 seconds fast.
What Matt means by fast is 15 minute pace.
So that is the pace that you can hold for
15 minutes.
So for most of us, that's going to be quicker than our 5k pace.
Are we ready? On your marks, get set, let's go!
Your lactate threshold is a point where you switch from aerobic to anaerobic effort.
The point where your body can produce and clear out lactate at an equal rate.
So, by training in this zone, we're gonna look to improve our lactate threshold.
Five done, meaning we can hit faster paces without spikes in lactate production
making us more efficient.
It's onto the short sharp recovery just 15 seconds before the next rep fast.
The first step was super easy to start with because the reps are only 30
seconds.
But it's deceptive because then you've only got really short 15 second recovery.
Its back into the hard effort and towards the end,
my legs were feeling heavy. And recover.
Oh two more of this set.
So the pacing in the first set, I thought I was doing really, really well on the first couple of reps, but then I turned around and
hit a massive headwind. 3,2,1, go.
So I think the reps where I was running into the wind
were a lot slower but I was maintaining the same effort despite the
fact that I was having to run a bit slower because of the wind.
Ah. Done! Rest, recovery 5 minutes.
That head wind is brutal.
Now I understand why there's five minutes recovery in between these sets.
It felt fine up until about rep seven, legs went to lead.
And I was just clinging on to that five minute recovery.
I was thinking 30 more seconds and then 30 more seconds, five minutes,
five minutes. Did the recoveries feel short? Long? Recovery's a blink and
you miss it during the sets, but they're a welcome relief.
Um Yeah, consistency is hard on this one.
You've got to try and keep your pace consistent from one through to rep
8 and I think that's quite tricky to do.
And I think that's quite tricky to do, so that's what I'm going to focus on on the next set.
So try and stay consistent throughout and not just. So I like to mix
up my recovery.
So start off walking and then just do a really light, gentle jog
doesn't have to be anything too taxing.
The whole point of this recovery is to bring your heart rate back down.
This workout definitely gets harder.
It's tough.
But by working hard you get to see the results.
So the second set I found super tough and I always find the middle one to be really
hard because you've got the first one where you're energized, you've got the last one where you know, you're nearly done.
But that second middle one is where you feel really tired and
you just want to get it finished and over with.
So I found the second set actually quite mentally tough.
So the good thing about intervals is that you can motivate yourself when it gets mentally tough by
thinking you've only got 30 seconds until the next rest.
You've only got A minute until the next recovery.
So you've always got that next thing to keep looking forward to.
Whereas if you were just running solidly for 48 minutes for that session, I think it would be
harder to motivate yourself if you were struggling.
So a couple of minutes left on my recovery, start with a bit
of a walk straight after the set just to really try and bring the heart rate down
and then go into a nice,
easy jog before we go into the final set.
Going into the third set definitely where you feel the most tired.
But this is where the main improvements come from the workout.
So keep focused in this section work hard.
The end's in sight.
Come on, we've got this.
The head wind is strong.
Set three done.
Oh gosh, that feels good to have finished.
Oh, that was mint.
What a great workout.
Ah, tough though.
Real, real tough.
So the final set was really good.
It felt really strong for most of it apart from the middle bit.
And I think that's where you might lose your nerve.
So you can remember to try and stay strong in the middle.
Then you'll see it through to the end.
The five minute recoveries in between the sets.
Really give you a chance to get your heart rate so much lower, which is
quite dangerous when you then set out on the first rap because you feel so fresh.
So I think my first reps of each of the sets, were pretty nippy.
So I know I said don't skip the cool down and I meant it cool downs are a good part of your training
because you can take on board your session and think about what you've just done.
So I'll be thinking about how it felt and maybe what it looked like the next
time I do it.
So, I've got a question for Matt Fitzgerald to answer for me.
And that is how would you expect this session to look if I did it again.
Great job with the workout
Anna um, to answer your question.
There are really two ways to see improvement in the lactate intervals workout.
One is quite obviously you can expect your 15 minute pace to improve so that your your
overall pace throughout the three sets increases.
Um and then you're pacing can improve just with Familiarization.
You know, the first time it's it's a challenging format.
You did well, but you can expect when you repeat the workout that you're pacing will be
a little bit more even throughout the the intervals and the more the better your
pacing is, the more you'll get out of the session.
Last thing I'll say is there are more challenging versions of the lactate intervals workout you did
three times eight, there's a three times 10 and three times 12 also.
So when you're ready for an even bigger challenge, try one of those.
So that's the lactate intervals workout. Thanks so much for coming
with me, have a go with it yourself and let us know in the comments how you got on and
if you want to check out loads of other workouts too, as well as loads of training tips and
advice and go and visit training peaks for now I'm off to go and
rehydrate refuel and probably have a bit of a sit down. See ya!