[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"public-library:en-GB:workout:running-cruise-intervals":3},{"slug":4,"sport":5,"category":6,"level":7,"intensity_unit":8,"modified_at":9,"author":10,"head":11,"equipment":14,"sources":16,"content":20,"facts":188,"blocks":349,"related":364},"running-cruise-intervals","running","threshold","beginner","pace","2026-10-25","Pierre Halloo",{"title":12,"description":13},"Cruise intervals running: 6 × 5 min at threshold","Jack Daniels' cruise intervals for running: 6 × 5 min at threshold pace, with a 1-minute walk between. Paces for 14 to 18 km\u002Fh and progression. 60 min.",[15],"gps_watch",[17],{"citation":18,"url":19},"Daniels J., Daniels' Running Formula, Human Kinetics",null,{"h1":21,"summary":22,"purpose":33,"execution":69,"feel":91,"mistakes":98,"not_for":135,"faq":142,"evidence":179},"Cruise intervals for runners (6 × 5 min at threshold)",{"type":23,"children":24},"root",[25],{"type":26,"tag":27,"props":28,"children":29},"element","p",{},[30],{"type":31,"value":32},"text","Cruise intervals for running: six 5-minute blocks at threshold pace, 87–91% of your vVO₂max, with 1 minute of walking between each. 30 minutes at threshold in an hour-long session, easier to hold than a continuous tempo run of the same length.",{"adaptation":34,"for_whom":46,"when":62},{"type":23,"children":35},[36,41],{"type":26,"tag":27,"props":37,"children":38},{},[39],{"type":31,"value":40},"Like a tempo run, cruise intervals push up the pace you can hold for a long time, your threshold pace. The difference is in how it's sliced: by cutting 30 minutes at threshold into six blocks, you rack up more of it than you could continuously, with far less mental strain. The minute's break clears your head without letting you fully recover: your breathing and heart rate stay up from one block to the next.",{"type":26,"tag":27,"props":42,"children":43},{},[44],{"type":31,"value":45},"It's Jack Daniels' idea: reps at T pace, his threshold pace, with a work-to-rest ratio of about 5 to 1. According to a secondary summary of his book, the format lets anyone who can hold 20 minutes continuously build up at least 30 minutes at threshold.",{"type":23,"children":47},[48],{"type":26,"tag":27,"props":49,"children":50},{},[51,53,60],{"type":31,"value":52},"Runners from 10K to marathon, including those who can't yet hold 20 continuous minutes at threshold: that's exactly who the format is for. You need a few weeks of regular easy running behind you, and a recently measured vVO₂max to set the pace. Once the blocks go well, the continuous ",{"type":26,"tag":54,"props":55,"children":57},"a",{"href":56},"\u002Fen-GB\u002Flibrary\u002Frunning\u002Fthreshold\u002Frunning-tempo-run",[58],{"type":31,"value":59},"tempo run",{"type":31,"value":61}," is the logical next step.",{"type":23,"children":63},[64],{"type":26,"tag":27,"props":65,"children":66},{},[67],{"type":31,"value":68},"One threshold session a week is a common guideline: cruise intervals can alternate with a tempo run from week to week. Put it after an easy day or a rest day, never the day before a long run, another hard session or a race. To progress, lengthen the blocks, 4 × 10 minutes with 90 seconds' rest, then 3 × 2 miles with 2 minutes, before moving on to a continuous tempo run.",[70,77,84],{"type":23,"children":71},[72],{"type":26,"tag":27,"props":73,"children":74},{},[75],{"type":31,"value":76},"10 minutes of easy running at 60–65% of vVO₂max, then 5 minutes at 66–72%. No need for strides: threshold pace isn't fast enough to call for them.",{"type":23,"children":78},[79],{"type":26,"tag":27,"props":80,"children":81},{},[82],{"type":31,"value":83},"Six 5-minute blocks at 87–91% of your vVO₂max, with 1 minute of walking between each. At 16 km\u002Fh that's 4:19 to 4:07\u002Fkm, or 1,160 to 1,213 metres per block. The pace should stay the same from the first block to the sixth: if you can't hold it by the fourth, you went off too fast. Keep the break short: stretch it and the session turns into a string of separate runs.",{"type":23,"children":85},[86],{"type":26,"tag":27,"props":87,"children":88},{},[89],{"type":31,"value":90},"10 minutes of very easy running at 55–65% of vVO₂max. If the last block felt as easy as the first, you can move to 10-minute blocks next time.",{"type":23,"children":92},[93],{"type":26,"tag":27,"props":94,"children":95},{},[96],{"type":31,"value":97},"A touch easier than a continuous tempo run, because you get a breather every 5 minutes. You should be able to say a few words, not hold a conversation. The last two blocks are the most demanding. A minute's walk is just long enough to check your watch, check it again, and set off. Guide: 6 to 7 out of 10 on each block.",[99,108,117,126],{"title":100,"body":101},"Running the blocks too fast",{"type":23,"children":102},[103],{"type":26,"tag":27,"props":104,"children":105},{},[106],{"type":31,"value":107},"Five-minute blocks invite you to speed up: that's no longer threshold, it's long vVO₂max reps. Threshold pace, 87–91% of vVO₂max, is roughly what you'd hold for an hour in a race: comfortably hard, never flat out.",{"title":109,"body":110},"Stretching the break",{"type":23,"children":111},[112],{"type":26,"tag":27,"props":113,"children":114},{},[115],{"type":31,"value":116},"The minute's walk is short on purpose: it keeps your breathing up and makes the session genuine threshold work. Take three minutes and you're running six separate blocks.",{"title":118,"body":119},"Raising the pace instead of lengthening",{"type":23,"children":120},[121],{"type":26,"tag":27,"props":122,"children":123},{},[124],{"type":31,"value":125},"When the session gets easy, Daniels' progression is to lengthen the blocks, not to run faster. A quicker pace would take you off threshold.",{"title":127,"body":128},"Putting it the day before a long run",{"type":23,"children":129},[130],{"type":26,"tag":27,"props":131,"children":132},{},[133],{"type":31,"value":134},"Thirty minutes at threshold leaves its mark. The day before a long run or a race, stick to easy running.",{"prerequisites":136,"avoid_if":139},[137,138],"A few weeks of regular easy running.","A recently measured vVO₂max.",[140,141],"You have pain or a recent injury.","A long run, another hard session or a race is planned for the next day.",[143,152,161,170],{"question":144,"answer":145},"What pace should cruise intervals be run at?",{"type":23,"children":146},[147],{"type":26,"tag":27,"props":148,"children":149},{},[150],{"type":31,"value":151},"At threshold pace, 87–91% of your vVO₂max: 4:56 to 4:43\u002Fkm at 14 km\u002Fh, 4:19 to 4:07\u002Fkm at 16, 3:50 to 3:40\u002Fkm at 18. It's Daniels' T pace, roughly what you'd hold for an hour in a race, the same as for a tempo run.",{"question":153,"answer":154},"Cruise intervals or a tempo run: which should I choose?",{"type":23,"children":155},[156],{"type":26,"tag":27,"props":157,"children":158},{},[159],{"type":31,"value":160},"Cruise intervals if you can't yet hold 20 continuous minutes at threshold, or if you want more time at that pace: 30 minutes instead of 20. A tempo run asks you to hold the pace without a break, closer to racing. You can alternate the two from week to week.",{"question":162,"answer":163},"Walk or jog during the one-minute break?",{"type":23,"children":164},[165],{"type":26,"tag":27,"props":166,"children":167},{},[168],{"type":31,"value":169},"Daniels prescribes a simple, very short rest; walking is a Wattson choice, to keep your legs moving. What matters is the length: one minute, no more, so your breathing stays up and the six blocks add up to a single piece of threshold work.",{"question":171,"answer":172},"How do I progress with cruise intervals?",{"type":23,"children":173},[174],{"type":26,"tag":27,"props":175,"children":176},{},[177],{"type":31,"value":178},"By lengthening the blocks at the same pace: 4 × 10 minutes with 90 seconds' rest, then 3 × 2 miles with 2 minutes, before moving to a continuous tempo run. If your vVO₂max improves, update it: your paces follow.",{"level":180,"text":181},"practice",{"type":23,"children":182},[183],{"type":26,"tag":27,"props":184,"children":185},{},[186],{"type":31,"value":187},"Jack Daniels (Daniels' Running Formula, Human Kinetics, several editions, consulted through extracts and reading notes) describes cruise intervals as reps at T pace, his threshold pace, with a work-to-rest ratio of about 5 to 1, by distance: 5 × 1 mile with 1 minute's rest, or 3 × 2 miles with 2 minutes. According to a secondary summary, the format lets anyone who can hold 20 minutes continuously accumulate at least 30 minutes at T pace. No dedicated study has been found. Threshold pace at 87–91% of vVO₂max, the time-based version (5-minute blocks, same ratio), walking instead of standing rest, the warm-up and the cool-down are Wattson choices. Bottom line: the practice of a respected coach, moderate 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