Is it generally better to overshoot or undershoot Threshold pace in training?

If you’re disciplined and take your easy days easy then no harm in doing workouts faster than prescribed.

What most people tend to do is do their workouts too slow and other runs too fast

Just…. don’t do workouts or easy runs too fast?? Start off slow(er) and work into your workouts and make each workout the most optimal it can be. Don’t go over threshold… you will know when you go over.

Neither. Hit your training goals and get serious about running.

That isnt how threshold training works. You will need to measure lactate for some time, after a while you get a sense for what it feels like when you are running at your threshold effort.

if you are doing lt1 sessions it is definitely better to undershoot. and yes, you should take external factors into account.

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Traditionally threshold is how long you can hold for an hour, but the training is not at that pace. Without a lactate monitor it's hard to see this but you want your lactate to be below your threshold like 3.0 for longer reps and maybe 4.0 for shorter reps.

What I'm just tryna say is that you may actually want to run slower if your threshold pace is 6:57 7:15 might be more effective.

It has also been found for beginners that training at even slower paces resulted in faster improvement.

TLDR: Run slower

Depends on the weather conditions. And what is your definition of threshold anyway?

in general, undershoot, but ideally you check your pace a few times the first few minutes and then ignore your watch and go by feel

after your workout go back and look at your pace and see how your "feel" matched up to it

nothing is responsible for killing more workouts that could have been solid than the disappointment of not seeing a specific number displayed on one's watch

The "1 hour pace" is simply a generalization and not actually true for each runner. It may very well be that 6:57/mile is the pace you can hold for one hour, but right now you are not fit enough to do so. I can't stand programs that prescribe threshold "pace." Threshold is never a pace, it is an effort. You use heart rate, lactate, effort perception and pace to better gauge the right effort. Pace is never the defining factor. So the answer to your question is you should be running slower. For your next threshold session, do not look at the watch once. Simply feel out what feels like proper threshold.

You’re received a lot of pompous answers, typical of this website.

To answer your question directly, it’s better to undershoot.

Exactly.

And there's a 3000+ post thread that basically discusses this idea of working at "sub" threshold: Modifying the Norwegian... You can check that out... quite the rabbit hole, but in a good way.

It's better to leave something on the table.

It gives me a threshold pace of 6:10 but I can race 1 hour at 5:55-6:00.

I do threshold intervals never continuous.

If your current threshold speed is too much of a burden during training, consider lowering it slightly. Gradually adjust your threshold speed based on your body's feedback. Every time I run, I check the data recorded by my BP Doctor, which gives me immediate feedback.

Try 20-25 x 400 tempo reps instead. Get that pace under control.

Would it be a good rule of thumb to at least go faster pace than most recent HM race pace?

No. Depending on the day and the workout, sometimes HM or even M pace is just right.

Undershoot for sure, especially if you are struggling with the pace.

I think you would need to increase your weekly mileage to get to a place were you could run your threshold pace comfortably for 20 minutes.

Generally better to undershoot it. I say that because every second above threshold is exponentially harder than the second before it.

That said, this is also where effort and RPE can become really important. Mark Coogan talks a little about this on the recent Science of Sport podcast. Where running overdressed into a headwind at 5:00 is like running 4:50 in good conditions in shorts.

Heart rate can be a bit of a help was well in that if you run at the same HR when it is hot as when it is cool that you will be running slower at that heat HR. So combining effort with HR is a solid approach.

I will argue that using lactate measures does more to muddy the training than anything. (This from a guy who once did a TON of LT testing on elite and sub-elite endurance athletes).

The hour pace is not a bad proxy for LT. In the USOC lab we found that about 20 seconds slower than 10K race pace was about LT (using our definition of it--one of 20 something out there in the literature). Guess what, this is about the pace you can maintain for an hour if you are reasonably trained.