Why Most Runners Do Vo₂ Max Intervals Wrong

[00:00:00] If you think VO O2 max interval training is just running really hard, you might be doing it wrong. And on the other spectrum, runners are doing hard repeats at a somewhat comfortable 10 K pace. That’s also wrong when it comes to VO two max. The pace difference seems tiny, but it’s the difference between improving your VO two max and running a faster 5K, 10 K, or even a marathon and just constantly wearing your body down.

[00:00:25] I’m gonna fix all that in this episode and show you what VO two max pace actually is. Precision is key. How to run smarter and find your correct VO two max pace using a free online calculator. The two pacing mistakes that kill VO two max workouts, a free training plan to fix it all so you can finally get faster and run farther.

[00:00:44] With less effort and a bunch more. I’m Daren D Lake Certified Running Coach, and I’ve been running for almost 30 years. That is, yes, since the nineties, but it wasn’t until about seven years ago that I finally figured out how to train VO two max the right way, which helped me run a 16 45 5 KA 1 22 half marathon and go sub three in the full marathon.

[00:01:03] The goal is to share all those VO two max lessons, so 100,000 other self-coach runners can get 1% better each day. Let’s get into the difference between VO two max pace and VO two max heart rate, so we can figure out if you’re doing it wrong or not. Alright, so VO two max is the maximum rate at which your heart, lungs, and muscles can take in transport and use oxygen during exercise.

[00:01:29] We’re going back to the basics. We’re defining it all. It’s essentially your body ceiling. For aerobic energy production, aerobic is oxygen and aerobic is no oxygen using glycogen. So that’s when you sprint for 10, 20 seconds and VO O2 max pace. Really, it’s the speed you run when you’re going almost all out.

[00:01:47] It’s hard enough that you can sustain it for about three to eight minutes before your legs and your lungs and your brain gives out. For most runners, that’s actually pace wise around your one mile or 5K current. Race pace fitness current is the key. Not what you think you did or what you did six months ago.

[00:02:06] Alright, so VO two max pace versus VO two max heart rate, because you may have seen some trending plans that say get your heart rate to zone four. Zone four is around VO two max. Here’s the key difference. VO two max. Is about pace. It’s about speed, not heart rate. Think of it like driving a car. Your speedometer, the pace tells you exactly how fast you’re going.

[00:02:26] But your RPM, the revolutions per minute, how fast your engine’s going gauge is your heart rate. It can vary based on terrain, wind, humidity, how tired you are, even caffeine, et cetera. Two runners can hit the same heart rate but be running completely different paces and that’s why we use PACE to define VO two max training.

[00:02:45] Usually it’s the actual speed that triggers the adaptation. A quick test. If you can’t speak more than two to three words without gasping for air, you’re probably in the right zone. Now, this is where heart rate comes in. We use heart rate to verify that we’re doing the right effort. But the adaptations come from getting up to speed.

[00:03:02] So you need speed or power or effort first, and then if your heart rate comes up after a couple minutes, you go, cool. And I can verify it by speed or pace by effort or power. So effort’s like it feels like a seven. Eight outta 10. And then power. If you have a power meter on your watch or a power meter foot pod, you can verify it by watts, uh, or the heart rate at the end.

[00:03:25] You have all these different metrics to verify it. And the problem, most runners here, VO two max workout interval workout, and they run something. That’s kind of hard and they get too kind of hard. So the kind of hard pace that you can hold for 15, maybe 20 minutes, that’s actually a tempo threshold run.

[00:03:41] So it feels hard after you get to like the eight, 10 minute mark, you’re like, this is pretty hard. But actually that’s a bit too easy. And another problem is really because they don’t understand the numbers, it’s because their brain gets in the way. True VO O2 max pace feels quite fast. And again, this is usually around your 5K current fitness.

[00:04:00] And sometimes for shorter intervals, you can do faster than 5K pace. You could do three K pace, one mile current fitness pace. If you’re not used to doing 5K work, this can feel quite intimidating going that fast. If you’ve never done it, you’re like, I’m going too fast, et cetera, and I’ll get into why these paces matter.

[00:04:17] And knowing your current. 5K fitness pace or your current one mile pace, et cetera, and how to actually get that very, very shortly. So research found that most runners can hold true VO two max pace for about six minutes on average, depending on so many factors. Experience how fit you are. Et cetera. Some lasting shorter than six minutes and some up to seven or eight minutes.

[00:04:39] Again, depending on fitness. Also, lactate tolerance, so that’s the lactic acid. You heard that like being able to tolerate, being able to go fast. This again goes to your fitness. That narrow window is where the magic happens. Anything slower can drop you out of getting the O2 max adaptations and into more of threshold adaptation.

[00:04:59] So that’s your temple runs 10 k, half marathon, even if the effort. Feels hard, but why is that? Because VO two max and running again is speed dependent. It’s literally called velocity at VO two max or v VO two max. Yes. This is getting quite nerdy, but this is very, very important. If you’re gonna do the workout, you might as well do the workout the right way.

[00:05:20] Again, you need to hit that specific pace to trigger the adaptation. Here’s the key. Keep individual intervals under five minutes go longer than that and lactate that burning sensation you feel that makes you wanna stop it starts polling up in your blood, which defeats the whole point of the VO two max session.

[00:05:36] Okay? Okay, so let’s take a quick 22nd break ’cause you might be asking yourself, Hey you two run coach. How do I actually find my VO two max pace easy Use my free guide and free training plan. No, really I made it silly, easy, stupid, easy. And I programmed a training plan with different VO two max workouts, et cetera, so you can build it in a smart way and not burn yourself out.

[00:05:57] And if you want more details, the training plan covers the full spectrum of VO two max workouts from short intervals. Uh, one’s like 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off. Uh, at faster than 5K pace, three K pace, one mile pace. So go and get that again at the QR code here, the link above or the link below in the episode description.

[00:06:14] Oh. If you’re listening to it in the podcast, go get that in the show notes. Alright, now that you know what VO two max pace is from the last. Section, let’s talk about how runners miss it completely. Alright, here’s more of the secret sauce and how I made that training plan. So step one, start with a recent race time.

[00:06:29] Use something from the last four to six weeks, a 5K, 10 K, even one mile time trial works, or two mile time trial. And no, I think I could run, doesn’t count. Or I used to run six months ago, a year ago, two years ago. This place, that doesn’t count. Use real data that shows your fitness ’cause fitness does erode.

[00:06:47] It goes away over time. Step two, plug it into the free VDOT calculator, Jack Daniels VDOT Calculator. It’s super accurate. Again, it’s free Google VDOT calculator or you can get it. I did a whole episode on using the VDOT calculator up here, or the link is below. It’s on my website, embedded in there, bookmark that.

[00:07:06] Episode that I have with the calculator, ’cause you’ll need to recalculate it every four to six weeks. It also gives you intervals that you can do at the paces, so you’ll know shorter intervals, longer intervals, what your time is for potentially a half marathon, marathon, et cetera. I love that it moves around, obviously, and it gives you a score that’s similar to a VO two MAX score.

[00:07:25] It’s called the VDOT score, and that is. Not based on weight. So VO two max is based on your weight, the Garmin or whatever CHOROS or whoop VO O2 max score that you might get on your smartwatch. That’s different than vdot. VDOT actually is what you’re actually doing in the, in the real world. Whereas a VO two MAX score, if you go into a lab and have the mask on, that’s kind of what your potential is in your ability.

[00:07:46] Both are, you know, good, but I actually like the VDOT because you can use it more in real life, in real running. Alright, step three, don’t round up. If it says run 6 28. Minutes per mile, or 6 28 minutes per kilometer run that. Number as close as you can, not six 15 because it feels good today, not 6 45 because you’re kind of tired.

[00:08:10] You really want to try to push yourself. The calculator already did the math based on your real world fitness. Hopefully the test was correct. You want your data to be clean, so trust it. You’ll also get a feel of what’s right and what’s wrong, and the calculator, while it is very, very accurate, if you give it bad data.

[00:08:25] Or you’re a special snowflake. It can also be off. Step four, retest every four to six weeks. Your fitness, it changes. So does your VO O2 max PACE race, retest, recalculate. Don’t train 16 weeks at a stale number. Schedule a 5K time trial. Park run or local race every four to six weeks during that training clock.

[00:08:45] Or again, if you can’t do that, just do a one mile time trial. Do a a two mile time trial. And this is, this is something that people might not tell you. You don’t have to go a hundred percent. I like to start at 90% and then end at 95% ’cause it’s a time trial. I don’t wanna hurt myself. I don’t need to destroy my body, feel like trash.

[00:09:01] The next three, four days ruin my whole next coming training week. So I’ll kind of know I had a little bit of gas in the tank and I might bump the score of my time trial five seconds faster, 10 seconds faster, knowing that I had a bit more. So that’s a bit of an experience hack that you’ll learn later on.

[00:09:16] Again, plug that into the vdot. Adjust your intervals and you don’t wait until it feels easier. Now that you know what VO two max pace is, let’s talk about how runners make mistakes and miss it. Completely mistake number one, running too slow, but thinking you’re doing intervals. This is when runners do 2K repeats or.

[00:09:33] One and a half mile repeats at their 10 K pace or even like almost half marathon pace, and they call it a VO two max interval speed session. But 10 K pace sits right at your lactate threshold, not VO two max pace. So instead of maxing out your oxygen consumption, you’re training your body to clear lactate, totally different adaptation.

[00:09:53] It’s a different pace, different stimulus, and then you get a different result. Here’s something to keep in mind. If you can complete five plus intervals without your form falling apart, you might be running too slow. Mistake number two, training at Goal Fitness instead of current fitness. This is a classic trap.

[00:10:09] I want to run a 20, 25 minute 5K, so I’ll train at. 20 minute 5K pace. Duh. Why wouldn’t I do that? But your body doesn’t care what you wish you could run. If that pace is beyond your current ability, you’ll either run too slow because you’re holding back or blow up by interval three in the workout. Either way, you never really hit that VO two max pace, intensity, speed.

[00:10:31] And I made this exact mistake myself back when I was chasing a faster 5K. I used my goal time to set my VO two max intervals. Every rep felt amazing for about 90 seconds, and then I fell apart. Halfway through the workout. So basically rep number three of what I was supposed to do, four or five. I’d be like, I can’t do this.

[00:10:48] And then guess what? I ended up slowing down. So my heart rate, even though it was at VO two max pace, and please take note of this, is very important. I wasn’t training VO two max at all. I was just doing sloppy threshold work and calling something else. Both mistakes come down to one issue. You’re choosing the wrong pace.

[00:11:05] So now that we know the mistakes, we know how to get into the right pace. We’ve learned a lot here. Here are a few VO two max myths that trip people up, runners, especially even experienced ones, they say, doesn’t threshold training also improve VO O2 max? Yes, but indirectly, threshold work raises the floor of your aerobic system, which helps you hold a higher percentage of VO two max for longer.

[00:11:28] But if you’re moderately fit and past the first few months of running AKA, you’re an intermediate runner. Doing threshold training is not specific enough to improve your VO two max. Another myth. Can I just train VO two max by feel threshold? Sure. That has a very distinct, comfortably hard six, outta 10 feeling that most new-ish and intermediate runners start to understand temple runs.

[00:11:51] They feel kind of easy in the beginning and then they get kind of hard. It’s like racing. Easy runs. Absolutely. You can feel when you’re relaxed. Everyone knows. Okay, I can talk a lot. This feels like a good run for 30 minutes, an hour, two hours. But VO two max, eh, you need experience and usually you need to understand power, your input, your body, and be on a flat surface that you’ve ran on a lot.

[00:12:12] I like to do it on a track. Or a grass surface that I know exactly how long the distance is of the area so that my intervals are always the same. If you’re guessing your effort and you don’t know, use this test mid workout. Can I grunt three to four words maximum before needing a breath? And that’s probably VO two max, probably full sentences.

[00:12:33] It’s too easy. Can’t speak at all, probably too fast. What if I don’t have a recent race? Then you need a simple time trial. You just gotta do it. Here’s some options again, one mile if you’re less fit or coming back from a break, two miles, three Ks for moderate fitness or full 5K. If you’re feeling well-trained, you’ve been running for about two to three months.

[00:12:53] I’m okay with you doing a 5K at 95% effort. The shorter efforts work better for beginners because they’re less intimidating and you can nail the paces. So to do the time trial, just warm up. 10 to 15 minutes, then start the CHIME trial. I like to start it at a eight outta 10 effort and then aim at like a nine, 9.5 out a 10.

[00:13:11] That’s so I can pace it correctly. Don’t wanna start at a 10, outta 10 because that’s basically sprinting. You can’t sprint for longer than 20, 30 seconds properly. So trying to sprint for 15, 20, 30 minutes, like no one can do that. This is a test. You can dig deep and go harder than normal. It’s fine ’cause you’ll give yourself two to three rest days after.

[00:13:29] Use that as your baseline time. And then retest and use the calculator, et cetera. The virtuous cycle continues. Again, if you haven’t go and download that free VO two max training plan and guide so that you can improve your VO two max. You get the four week training plan with sampler, VO two max workouts, cheat sheet, and quickstart guide.

[00:13:46] You also get signed up for my newsletter that hits your email inbox in five minutes or less. Each week I go deep on this VO two max stuff threshold. Easy runs in that all important mind brain training so that you can keep doing this for the next 20, 30 or even more years. Get at the QR code here or link below.

[00:14:02] This episode was about what not to do if you’re wanting to fully understand what to do and the variations around a bunch of VO two max. Go to the episode below right here if you’re on YouTube or the link in your show notes or podcast or Spotify player if you’re listening or watching on there. Thanks for rocking.

[00:14:21] Thanks for listening. Happy runnings. Peace.