Matt Rees' Controlled Threshold

Workout - Matt Rees' Controlled Threshold

• 15min @ 6'30''/km
• 5 lots of:
  • 5min @ 5'10''/km
  • 2min rest
• 10min @ 7'30''/km

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Intro

A breakdown of “MATT REES @TheWelshRunner SUB ELITE - 2 HOUR LONG RUN In Prep For ROTTERDAM Marathon” from The FOD Runner. Worth watching in full. The core workout is distilled below so you can run it right away.

Key points

• Mileage: 90 miles weekly (roughly 11-12 hours), with trail and hill work in recovery runs to build durability and strength without gym sessions.
• Approach: high volume at controlled intensity, letting hills do the strength-building work.
• Controlled double-day workouts: Tuesday’s double-threshold repeats (low-tempo intervals) and Thursday’s extended tempo (10-20 miles), both guided by lactate to lock in the right effort.
• Practical tips: easy runs on hills or trails, easy-run pace 3-4 minutes per mile slower than marathon pace, monitor lactate (2-4 mmol/L) to judge effort.

Workout example

Tuesday, double threshold (controlled)

• Warm-up: 10-15 minutes easy on trails.
• Main set: 5 x 5-minute intervals at 5:30-5:45/mi (roughly 3-4 min/mi slower than marathon goal) with 1-2 minute recovery jogs. Total day reaches about 19 miles, hard work in about an hour.
• Cool-down: 10 minutes easy.

Thursday, longer effort (10-20 mi)

• Warm-up: 10 minutes easy.
• Main set: 10 miles at 5:24-5:45/mi (targeting the 520 bpm heart-rate zone), controlled tempo.
• Optional: a second session in the afternoon with 1-3 minute surges at a brisker pace and recovery between reps.

Closing note

Try these paired sessions, tune your paces in the Pacing app to your marathon target, and stick with the process.

References

• MATT REES ‪@TheWelshRunner‬ SUB ELITE - 2 HOUR LONG RUN In Prep For ROTTERDAM Marathon | FOD Runner - YouTube (YouTube Video)