Try 1K Repeats to Increase Lactate Threshold

One kilometer repeats are some of the most grueling workouts you’ll ever do. They’re not short like 200s and 400s but they’re also not that long, so you’re going close to full throttle the entire time. They’re great for increasing lactate threshold as well as preparing you psychologically for the speed you’re going to encounter in a race setting.

For this workout you should do at least two kilometers more than your target race distance. For example, if you’re running a 10K and your goal is to finish in under 35 minutes, but you’re currently running it in 37 minutes, you’ll want to do at least 12 repeats.

In week one, run your first kilometer a few minutes slower than race pace, so let’s say 4:00, or a 40-minute 10K pace. For each kilometer, increase the pace by about 2 seconds — this way by the 12th repeat you’re running at 3:38 pace, which is about a 36:19 10K.

Each week, increase the pace ever so slightly so that by about a week before your race you’re doing your final kilometer significantly faster than your intended race pace. So, for our example, the final 3 kilometers will look something like 3:27, 3:25 and 3:23, respectively.

One kilometer repeats combined with some shorter distance speed workouts will get you comfortable running fast in a very short time. The first couple of times you do this workout you might not be able to finish because it’s so grueling. But if you dig deep, you’ll soon be shaving seconds off your times each week.