No race pace workout, threshold / sub threshold only?

You can make a lot of progress doing threshold work at the correct effort and 200m reps around 800m race pace.

i used to run high mileage, which always leaves me exhausted, i now run everything at threshold pace and cut my mileage in half, around 50mpw, i feel much better, benefit is i get so comfortable at threshold pace and not afraid of tempo run anymore, i improve hm time from 1h16 to 1h11, both were run at 30°C, but i am not sure if it's related to how i train.

If you're a slower twitch athlete it could be very successful. Not convinced it's the best method for FT athletes.

Yes, whole thread is about that. Look for posts by Sirpoc (has registered account but was using anon account for the first pages), you'll be able to ID by huge upvotes. His schedule is just 3x sub T workouts, 1 long run and 3x easy days between. That's it. He went from just sub 17:30 at start of thread to 15:40 this year, so not even a full year. Very aerobic training but lots of testimonials in that thread of its effectiveness for 5k+ racing.

MoVB

There’s no way you are running 50 miles per week at your actual threshold pace.

Bump. Anyone else have success with no work at race pace?

The reps don’t even need to be as long as 200m. Short hill sprints (6-10s), fast 100s and 150s, 20s hill strides, all with long 2-3+ min recovery will do the trick.

Nobody will get much below 17 and definitely not into proper runner territory, which I consider 16:30 or quicker, without some race pace stuff. Sure, you can do some threshold work , that will help. But vo2 max and race pace work is a must. No serious coach would take on a half talented runner and not give them the specific workouts for the task. Ideally hills, just to stop the strain on the body , but at least every other week if not your big weekend workout. Key is consistency with these and hitting current race pace. A few months straight of this and you will break 17 no doubt. Then maybe a mid 16. No way can you do that on just threshold, let alone just sub threshold.

30+ years of racing experience. You're welcome.

Ryan Hall said he never went within 20 seconds or so of his AR half pace in his buildup.

He was at altitude and had certainly run fast in prior cycles.

Why do something stupid like this when you could just do a lot of threshold work and occasional race pace stuff? Why be an extremeist? You really think doing some strides is going to cause your legs to fall off? Or doing a few 400s after your tempo run?

Many runners can get close to 100% (90-95%) of their potential through a threshold based approach. For a 5K runner, a very important thing to remember is that Lactate Threshold is a physiological state, not a specific pace. For instance, you could do longer reps (such as 1-2K) at your estimated lactate threshold Pace, but you could also perform threshold training using shorter reps at a faster pace (example: 16 x 400 @ 10k pace or slightly faster/30 sec walk rests). These shorter reps with short recoveries will be more 5K specific, while still physiologically being a lactate threshold session.

As other posters have said above, it's a good idea to get a bit of fast twitch stimulation with a few short fast hills or flat fast strides with longer recoveries. You don't need a ton of this, but a little bit should do you good.

At 65-years-old, I had good success with alternating Easy Interval Sessions, which are high aerobic, with recovery runs of just 3 or 4 miles around 8:00 pace.

I didn't do a long run, but some of the sessions like 6x1000m with 800m easy recovery, came out to over 8 miles with warm-up and warm-down. I was only aiming for races at 3000m to 5000m/5k, so I felt after 50 years of running, I could get away without the long run.

And why settle for 90% when doing a couple of harder workouts get you to 95%? Why go to extremes?

I agree with you. Using a threshold-based approach for most of the year, then sharpening up with a few race-specific sessions, would yield the best results for many, many runners.