The Razor's Edge

A well-executed threshold run is a beautiful thing. For me, it starts a little slower than goal pace and then gradually works up and locks in at the right pace. The effort is comfortable, the kilometre splits cut like butter, breathing is easy and open, and while there is some fatigue, there is no struggle – the run is always strong. I know I’ve hit it when I still feel like I’ve got an extra gear over the last few k, but I don’t use it.

My threshold run on Wednesday was absolutely nothing like that.

Nope. I started out on a significant uphill and went out like an idiot – 3:36 for the first k and breathing hard. Then I tried to relax and ease off, but failed completely – 3:37. Once I’ve established a rhythm, it’s hard for me to change it, even though I know I’m going to crash if I don’t. It was freezing cold, and I had many layers on, so I was looking for something like 3:45. You’d think 8 or 9 seconds per k wouldn’t matter that much, but it does. That’s the thing with a threshold run, you’re supposed to run right at that optimal aerobic zone and not spill over into the anaerobic zone (it’s not that simple, but it kind of feels that way). If you go over the razor’s edge – well, it doesn’t go well.

I had planned 10k of threshold, and I’d blown it in the first two. Instead of backing right off and being content with, say, 3:48, I kept grinding at low 3:40s for another 5k before I stopped cold in front of a steep hill. I recovered for a couple of minutes and then decided to try the last 3k. But once you’re done, you’re done. I had to struggle to get a 3:48. It’s funny how that works – the other day, when Alex and I were doing 9k at race pace, we were hitting 3:48s quite easily. But with acidy legs, easy becomes difficult.

The whole thing was a bit demoralizing, and it freaked me out – the marathon isn’t all that far away, and I’m struggling to do the same kind of threshold pace I was doing last summer. It’s like all this training hasn’t done a damn thing. But I’m trying not to dwell on it too much (as you can see!!) – I can’t judge my fitness on a poorly executed workout, especially since I had a great workout the week before. It’s just a further reminder that starting conservatively is critical to a good performance.

So chin up, carry on.