Cuando Correr Series y cuando Umbral Láctico

Key wellness & training strategies (intervals vs. lactate/threshold)

What each workout trains (the “why”)

• Lactate threshold (threshold training / “bral” in the subtitles):

  • Lactate rises, but at the threshold your body can use/recycle lactate as an energy source.
  • There’s a fine line: go slightly too fast and you push into more anaerobic intensity.

• Intervals / “series” (more anaerobic work):

  • Performed at higher intensity, involving very low oxygen conditions.
  • Builds the anaerobic / high-VO₂max component and is typically harder on the body.

How to decide which to use (3 factors)

1. Athlete characteristics

   • Age:
     • Younger / more adaptable athletes can often tolerate more aggressive interval work (pace + volume).
     • Older athletes need more care due to slower adaptation and greater wear-and-tear—so favor more threshold at times.
   • Experience & injury history / tolerance:
     • Beginners or less experienced runners should progress more gradually with threshold first (generally lower impact/intensity than intervals).
     • More experienced, injury-resistant runners can handle more intervals.

2. Type/length of competition

   • The longer the race, the more training emphasizes aerobic work:
     • More threshold (zone 2), less intervals.
   • The shorter the race (e.g., 5K/10K), the more you can emphasize interval training due to increased anaerobic demand.

3. Time in the season (proximity to race)

   • The closer you are to the competition, the more your training needs to be specific.
   • Example logic given for a 10K:
     • Start by building threshold to shift the lactate curve.
     • Then move toward intervals as race day approaches to train the anaerobic component needed for 10K.

Practical “how to” structure (example approach)

• General session flow for quality work

  • Warm-up: example given ~4 km
  • Main set: threshold first (calculated via test/stress test or based on pace equivalence)
  • Cool-down: example ~1 km

• Threshold progression concept (for ~8 weeks out; example used)

  • Start with a threshold block such as 6 km threshold + warm-up/cool-down to reach ~11 km total for the session.
  • If assimilating well (correct effort/heart-rate range), then:
    • Increase duration (e.g., 6 → 7 km), or
    • Split into blocks (e.g., two or three threshold blocks).
  • As race gets closer:
    • Maintain or slightly modify the warm-up and add more intensity components.

• Later progression (adding anaerobic work)

  • After establishing a threshold base, introduce intervals gradually, for example:
    • Start with less (e.g., 7 → 8, or 2 blocks of 4),
    • Then progress to harder interval sets like 2 × 1000 m, while keeping threshold elements included earlier in the buildup.

Self-care / injury-prevention theme (implicit but clear)

Use more threshold when the runner is older, less experienced, or more injury-prone to reduce the aggressiveness/impact associated with intervals.

• Progress changes subtly, not aggressively, because sudden intensity changes can become an additional stressor.

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Presenters / sources

• Presenter: David Carnés (running coach; “higher degree in physical and sports activities”)
• Referenced method/source: Luis del Águila (mentioned for training methodology and zone approach)