Lactate test with Johan Håård
I had the great opportunity today to do a lactate test together with my cousin Johan Håård, who is a well educated sports science enthusiast and former athlete sprinter for the 800 m distance. We also did a max pulse test requested by me but it was the lactate test that was especially interesting since it in detail can show where my aerobic threshold is in relation to pace. This post is about the lactate test. For the max pulse test, see Max pulse and training zones.
Theory and motivation behind a lactate level test
Johan emphasized that since I train for the half-marathon I must not train anaerobically that is past my aerobic threshold. This he means would not be effective since the anaerobic system add very little to the result of a marathon runner’s race performance, since as little as a couple of percentages of all energy used during the race comes from the anaerobic system.
Doing this test would tell me how I can focus my training on improving the other 98 % part playing much greater role for results, this part being my aerobic system.
The lactate test informs at what given pace the aerobic system stops functioning and the runner “hits the wall” of his long distance endurance ability. It is beyond this transition point training starts to become ineffective.
This transition point to anaerobic training can be considered to have been reached if levels (in the blood) go above 4 mmol/L. If the runner would continue at such levels, lactate levels will keep accumulate in the blood until the runner is forced to return to a pace the aerobic system is again capable to fully support, allowing levels to return back below 4 mmol/L.
To summarise, a lactate test is valuable for two reasons:
- First it tells at what pace one should avoid to go beyond, a.k.a. the threshold pace.
- Secondly it tells how well the aerobic system is conditioned today in relation to any set target pace for an upcoming race. It therefore determines if goals are realistic or overambitious.
Results
Table 2 - Lactate levels, intervals of 1000 m, flat terrain.
| Interval | Wind | Pace | Lactate Level (mmol/L) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | with | 4:30 | 1.8 |
| 2 | against | 4:15 | 2.8 |
| 3 | with | 4:00 | 3.2 |
| 4 | against | 3:45 | 6.7 |
The result of the lactate test was promising since it indicate that I am on a good path of succeeding with my goal of finishing Göteborgsvarvet under 1:25:00 or at an average pace of 4:00 min / km. According to the test my body is already capable of keeping lactate levels steady at this level. It was first at 3:45 min/km lactate levels were elevated beyond 4 mmol/L (6.7 mmol/L).
The wind played some role in the testing results. To compensate for this, one could add or remove 5 second to the paces depending on if the wind was “with” or “against”. Another note to be made is that the 4:00 min / km was recoreded as 3:55 km/min on the GPS tracker.
These results can be used for designing an effective threshold run session, see Threshold runs recipe.