This is the finale of our ladder series of workouts and it’s JUICY one!!

WHAT?

Legs, Lungs & Lactate Ladder Pt.4
4x30s, 3x1min, 2x2mins 10mins (@ 1-hour race pace), 2x2mins, 3x1min, 4x30s
@ mile-to-5k race pace
1min jog recoveries (2mins either side of the 10-minute tempo)

Terrain: Undulating terrain for a fartlek session or flat, measurable pathway for accurate GPS readings.

The idea with a ladder session like this is that you set the tone with shorter, sharper reps at the start—focusing on good technique—before moving into the steady state tempo run in the middle to get some energy system adaptation in there. Then we finish off with that quality again, this time a little fatigued.

Keep the 30-second efforts at about mile pace or a little slower, the 1-minute efforts at 3k pace or slower and the 2-minutes at 5k pace or slower. Keep the jog recoveries very light to make sure you can get through the workout in one piece!

WHY?

This workout tests and strengthens legs, lungs and lactate. We want to really dial in the legs with great technique in the 30-second efforts at the start and then really test out your ability to run well when fatigued for the final 30-second efforts.

The lactate threshold gets some attention in the middle, before finishing short and fast again.

HOW?

You could run this session as a pure fartlek run by going off-road and not worrying about exact paces, but do it all by feel. Or you could keep it on a flat measurable pathway so you have better feedback from watch on how fast you’re moving.

Head over to the TempoFit.org Race and Pace Calculator at tempofit.org to work out your paces.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK:

WHY DO WE RUN?

By Hayden Shearman

Part of why running has taken off in the last 50-odd years is that we are the first generation in human history who haven’t needed to move to stay alive.

In this week’s podcast I share five reasons why running is such an important tool for humans to stay active, healthy and happy in a world where we can get most things done sitting down.