This week’s ladder session is a really tasty sandwich with short, fast reps as the bread and a juicy tempo run as the middle. Be sure to give this workout a go!

WHAT?

Legs, Lungs & Lactate Ladder Pt.3
3x30s, 3x1min, 10mins (@ 1-hour race pace), 3x1min, 3x30s
@ mile-to-3k race pace
2min jog recoveries

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.

Except for the 10-minute tempo run, all the reps for this workout are quick (somewhere between mile pace and 3k race pace i.e. 5- to 10-minute race pace) so be sure to make the most of the 2-minute recoveries.

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.

Be sure to keep the 2-minute jog recoveries light.

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