Threshold runs are amongst my least favorite workouts. They are hard physically, and challenge you mentally too. That is why they are so good for you.
My hour long run today was:
- 15 minute warm up with a few pick ups
- 4 x 5 minutes at threshold pace, on 2 minutes rest
- 5 minutes steady run
- 4 x 30 seconds high cadence running, on 1 minutes rest
- 6 minutes cool down
The chart above shows my heart rate during the workout. You can easily spot the four threshold intervals. They really got my heart up. Five minutes of threshold running is tough, but strangely enough, the interval is short enough, that you can actually recover and go again quite easily.
Today, my legs were tired, and I was struggling with my breathing a little. It would have been easy for me to chose to back off a little. I chose however to be mentally strong and ‘suck it up’. This did the trick and the results from the run were very encouraging. I was surprised at my pace, given how I was feeling.
What’s that dip in heart rate after interval three you ask? Any guesses?
Well… it was an urgent trip to the Porta John… it happens sometimes. My gut doesn’t complain much when I run, but when it does, it always seems to be when I do threshold runs and push really hard.
Despite the pain during the run, I felt great afterwards. I was happy with how I pushed through, and was buzzing from a ‘runner’s high’.
