Your 10-Week Training Plan to Boost Lactate Threshold and Run Faster for Longer Distances

The pace you can run at lactate threshold is one of the most important factors in successful long-distance race performance. It’s the hardest pace you can hold for about an hour, or the fastest you can go before your body fatigues and slows down—a key metric for running faster for longer!“I believe lactate threshold training is probably the bread and butter of long-distance running,” says Alex Morrow, Birmingham-based certified run coach and founder of Resolute Running. “You can do VO₂ max, short reps, and all kinds of fun stuff and they’re great for training, but lactate threshold is the biggest predictor of performance, in my opinion.”One of the reasons your legs turn to bricks in a marathon and why it’s so hard to pick up pace later in a half is often because you’re running at or above your lactate threshold. If you can nab a higher threshold level, you can run longer at faster paces before you slow you down. Threshold workouts help you do that.It typically takes about six to 12 weeks to improve your threshold, depending on your fitness level, so a dedicated block of threshold training can help you raise it.With this threshold training plan, you devote 10 weeks of consistent workouts to improving your threshold. After you finish, you can expect faster training paces with less effort, and a better chance at hitting PRs in half and full marathons.For the full program, we tapped Morrow to create the 10-week training plan, plus a breakdown of what to keep in mind.Who This Plan Is ForThis plan is best suited for runners who aren’t total beginners, but have an intermediate-to-advanced level of running experience with a solid endurance base under their belts and some experience with higher-intensity running. But it works for a majority of runners who want to improve lactate threshold, Morrow says.You should feel confident and comfortable with following a regular, structured training plan, including weekly long runs, speed workouts, recovery days, and some strength work.Download PlanHow to Find Your Lactate Threshold PaceBefore you start this plan, you’ll need to find your lactate threshold pace. The most accurate method for finding your lactate threshold is through lab testing, in which you gradually increase your speed, and experts prick your finger to measure lactate buildup in your blood. This isn’t very accessible to most people, though, so here’s how to find your pace at home, Morrow says.About This PlanThe Workouts That Improve Lactate ThresholdThe purpose of the workouts on this plan is to accumulate roughly 20 to 40 minutes of total effort at your lactate threshold over 10 weeks of consistent work. Doing so will teach your body to clear lactate faster, helping you maintain speed before too much accumulates and slows you down.You’ll start with cruise intervals, which break up threshold efforts into shorter chunks, ranging from 200-meter to two-mile repeats. You’ll then progress to continuous threshold runs, starting at 20 minutes and working up to a 40-minute effort, sandwiched between a warmup and cooldown.Morrow also includes a weekend long run at an easy, conversational pace to improve overall endurance. You’ll also work lactate threshold miles in every other long run to teach you how to run faster on fatigued legs, switch gears, and spend more time at threshold pace.The other days on the schedule include one dedicated rest day to recover from the work so your body can actually adapt, and days for optional easy runs, cross-training, and strength training.Complete easy runs and cross-training activities, like swimming or cycling, at a truly easy effort to help you recover between hard days.Strength training—on the plan two days a week—can help you build strength and power, and prevent injuries so you can stay a consistent, well-rounded runner.When to Follow This Plan and What You Get Out of ItThis plan would work well in a periodized training program, in which you dedicate a specific cycle to one goal, Morrow explains. For example, you could complete a base training plan, then follow this threshold plan before starting a 5K, 10K, half marathon, or marathon training plan.By the end of the threshold program, you will be able to run faster for longer and better manage low-grade discomfort going into your race buildup, Morrow says. “What you will find is that as your lactate threshold improves, your easy run paces and your long run paces that are done at an easy effort will start to drift a little bit faster without you even trying,” he says. “A lot of the runs that you used to consider harder will start feeling easier. You just feel good, and your effort level isn’t as high as it used to be to maintain that pace.”An added bonus: This program emphasizes smarter pacing, which should help you throughout training and on race day, Morrow says. Many runners are tempted to push the pace a little bit faster just to feel like they’re working harder, especially in threshold sessions, he explains, but as you practice sticking to your true threshold pace, you’ll gain a better sense of how to control your effort.Threshold pace usually falls somewhere between your 10K and half marathon speed, though that can vary depending on your experience and fitness level. You shouldn’t feel completely spent after threshold efforts; they’re easier than shorter-distance speedwork and overdoing it could result in overtraining.When you finish, you should feel like you’re “comfortably uncomfortable,” meaning you could probably get out a few short sentences. It might feel deceptively easy, but remember that the point of threshold workouts is to log volume at that specific pace to get better at it with time.3 Tips for Following This Plan1. Don’t Abandon Threshold After You Finish the PlanEach phase of training still has a place for threshold workouts, especially when you’re building up to a race, Morrow notes. Even though your focus in race training might include race pace workouts or speedwork, lactate threshold can still show up in the form of tempo runs, mixed interval workouts, or long runs with threshold pace. “Don’t leave [threshold training] behind just because you finish the program,” Morrow adds.2. Retest PeriodicallyThere’s always value in retesting your threshold pace if something feels off, or if you feel like you’re making progress. Morrow suggests retesting about every six to 10 weeks. But, he explains, if you feel like your threshold workouts are suspiciously easy, retesting can help you check in with your pace earlier than six weeks—every three to five weeks works, too. “Not everybody progresses at the same rate,” Morrow adds.3. Watch for Overtraining SignsJust like any other training plan, Morrow urges runners to be mindful of overdoing it. Monitor your resting heart rate for sustained elevations, watch for signs of excessive fatigue like an elevated heart rate, slower recovery, decline in performance, difficulty holding your usual paces, or a lingering negative mood.Some of these signs showing up repeatedly for a few weeks could signal the training is too intense and you should dial back by taking a “reset week,” Morrow suggests, where you only run easy for a week and examine your sleep, nutrition, and recovery habits. After you feel restored, you can pick up where you left off in the plan with caution.Morrow purposefully added deload weeks to this plan (weeks 4 and 8), which means a 20 to 25 percent reduction in training volume. These weeks should help you avoid overtraining and emphasize recovery from the weeks of work you put in beforehand. Don’t go longer or push harder during these weeks; the purpose is to give your body some time to recuperate.Most of the time, nutrition, hydration, recovery, and sleep habits lead to overtraining and burnout in runners, Morrow says, so evaluating those factors first can help. If you suspect that your paces are too hard or you’re consistently struggling to complete workouts, a retest can also help confirm whether you need to slow down.Download Training PlanKristine Kearns, a writer and avid runner, joined Runner’s World and Bicycling in July 2024. She previously coached high school girls cross country and currently competes in seasonal races, with more than six years of distance training and an affinity for weightlifting. You can find her wearing purple, baking cupcakes, and visiting her local farmers market.