3 x 1 Mile

Designed for XC runners

Intensity

3,000m pace

Recovery

400m jogging recovery

Exertion

10/10

Periodization

Specific Period

Context & Details

If you want to run faster on race day, then you’ll need to practice running faster in training — a lot.

Although popular, high volume, low-intensity training won’t cut it. You need to increase training intensity to get faster. The fastest runners are those who carry out the greatest amount of training at high intensities.

Why?

High-intensity running teaches the body how to process lactate more effectively, by consuming it, through clearance and breakdown, and buffering against it.

The agents most responsible for the clearance and buffering of lactate are MTC1 and MTC4.

MCT1 and MCT4 (for monocarboxylate transporter 1 and 4, respectively) are unique muscle proteins that are lactate transporters.

Intense running results in a faster appearance of lactate in the blood compared to low-intensity running. High concentrations of bloodstream lactate increase the activity of monocarboxylate proteins transporters of lactate (MCT1 and MCT4) through the muscular membrane. As MCT1 and MCT4 concentrations advance, lactate disappearance rate increase correspondingly, and running velocities at both lactate steady-state and tolerance thresholds improve.

Lactate can be fuel for the muscles, but once it’s in the bloodstream it releases a positive Hydorden ion creating an acidic environment — which is why old-timers (incorrectly) cited lactic acid as the scapegoat for many running-related sensations of discomfort tied to poor performance, heavy legs, muscle soreness, and more.

If you want to get better results by learning more about Lactate Dynamics, Join the Scholar Program for only $29 to get unlimited access to 100+ training logs and courses on how to train and improve this quality.

Today’s workout of 3 x 1 Mile at 3K pace is perhaps one of the most straightforward ways to rapidly inject high concentrations of lactate into a runner’s system. Three-thousand-meter pace racing is tightly correlated with a runner’s maximal cardiac output (VO₂ Max) where the heart and muscles are operating at peak work rates for an extended duration.

It’s become a staple workout for high school to professional runners because it’s tough and it works.

Overly ambitious runners and coaches sometimes perform this workout before 3,000m pace can be held for all three 1 Mile repeats.

As written, this workout is intended for runners in the Specific Period of training, whose fitness has progressed to the point making this workout a possibility. One of the themes in the Specific Period for workouts is Extension of intensity. Here extension is represented by sustaining 1 Mile straight of 3K pace before an interval of relief, in this case, a 400m jog.

Be smart and patient, work towards 1 Mile repeats and only administer this session when the runners are ready for the challenge.

Foundational workouts in earlier training periods building up to session could be 12 x 400m at 3K pace, then 6 x 800m at 3K pace, followed by 4 x 1200m at 3K pace. Once runners have successfully advanced through that series of workouts they are ready to attempt 3 x 1M at 3K pace (note this progression may take 4 - 8 weeks of uninterrupted training).

What makes 3 x 1 Mile so effective is the rapid concentration of lactate into the system (increasing MCT1 and MCT4 activity) and the discomfort runners must endure during each mile rep (which upgrades lactate and pain tolerances).

I fondly remember every fall, before this workout, my high school coach gathering our XC team around and saying:

“Gentlemen, I hope you’re ready because today’s forecast calls for PAIN — and lots of it. Three by 1 Mile is on the menu. Good luck and God’s Speed to you all.”

Any questions? Direct Message me on twitter.
Thx. | jm

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3 Good Books on XC / Lactate training

The Science of Running by Steve Magness
Running: Biomechanics and Exercise Physiology in Practice by Frans Bosch and R. Klomp
The Physiology of Training for High Performance by Duncan Macdougall & Digby Sale