bangalangadanga
Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running? 2/17/2012 11:04AM Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running?
RobA
RE: Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running? 2/17/2012 11:17AM - in reply to bangalangadanga Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
In my opinion, a mix of long, slow runs and tempo runs is exactly what base training is all about.
xoxoxo
RE: Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running? 2/17/2012 11:23AM - in reply to RobA Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
Why would super slow running ever be emphasized? Recovery runs after hard efforts, sure, but nobody recommends "super slow" running aside from those.
Skeptic of it All
RE: Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running? 2/17/2012 11:33AM - in reply to xoxoxo Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
I am not sure how long this one is going to last... seems like tempo run threads are getting deleted.

Here was my response to the 12 mile tempo question, which I posted in a separate thread but got the ax. Is someone playing a joke, seems like a good topic...



I think the term "Tempo" gets thrown around loosely. To Jack Daniels it is "AT" pace or for those who don't have the ability to test such things "the pace you would race at for about one hour." Thus 20-25 minutes is a good amount of time for a tempo. Obviously you can stretch to 30 or 40 minutes but beyond that you are getting close to race pace.

Sometimes "Marathon Pace" gets thrown in with the Tempo jargon. After all it is a fast pace that can be sustained for 12 miles and give the feel of a tempo.

Then you have the "up-tempo" coaches tell their runners to give, maybe on a fartlek run. This is just by feel.

From my college days and the years on the Farm Team tempos turned into time trials and run way too fast. Well every workout was except for the top guns, maybe even for them at times. So Tempos can sometimes mean "time trials" that I believe are a supplement to the limited racing schedule we see now in college. They may not travel to a race every week but that weekly tempo sure is a hidden race!

So the answer is there is no clear cut definition of "tempo" and everyone has a different take. I think runners world did a great article on the definition of "tempo runs" a while back.
bangalangadanga
RE: Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running? 2/17/2012 11:37AM - in reply to xoxoxo Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
nobody?
i think the idea i have been taking away from the message board people who seem to advocate 'lydiard / big base' philosophies is that base running is about slow slow mileage.

so the LRC consensus confirms that tempo run days should come with a complimentary recovery run day, with a weekly long run, and that should equal base training?
predict my stuff
RE: Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running? 2/17/2012 11:40AM - in reply to bangalangadanga Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
i was under the impression that lydiard did include tempo runs
xoxoxo
RE: Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running? 2/17/2012 11:47AM - in reply to bangalangadanga Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
You don't know what Lydiard training is if you think it's about slow mileage. His athletes ran mostly moderate miles. Common misconception though, for sure reason.


bangalangadanga wrote:

nobody?
i think the idea i have been taking away from the message board people who seem to advocate 'lydiard / big base' philosophies is that base running is about slow slow mileage.

xoxoxo
RE: Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running? 2/17/2012 11:48AM - in reply to xoxoxo Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
"for some reason"...fingers got away from me on that one.
Guppy
RE: Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running? 2/17/2012 11:54AM - in reply to bangalangadanga Reply | Return to Index | Report Post

bangalangadanga wrote:

Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running?


Super slow running should never be emphasized. Most runs during the base phase should be at a moderate pace.
Inf
RE: Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running? 2/17/2012 11:55AM - in reply to predict my stuff Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
I got my understanding of Lydiard base (aka marathon) training from Healthy Intelligent Training by Keith Livingstone and what I got out of it was basically:

2 weekly runs of 1.5 hours at "areobic" pace
1 long run of 2+ hours at easier pace
1 "marathon pace" run of about an hour (not quite tempo pace)

all other runs are supplementary.

So, a typical week for me is

M: am 3 miles, pm 3 easy
Tu: am 3, pm hard workout with club + easy miles = 1.5 hours
W: am 3, pm 3 easy
Th: am 3, pm 1.5 hours high aerobic pace
F: off
Sat: marathon pace or tempo run 6-10 miles
Sun: long 2.5 hours with last mile or two at marathon pace

This is about 60 mpw for me and has been working out well for the last few months.
bangalangadanga
RE: Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running? 2/17/2012 12:11PM - in reply to Inf Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
sweet!

I hope this isn't a common misconception that lydiard training is super slow running. I felt like I was committing some kind of heresy doing most of my runs at a moderate / tempo effort.

I felt a lot better than just shuffling along really slowly!
å
RE: Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running? 2/17/2012 12:20PM - in reply to Inf Reply | Return to Index | Report Post

Inf wrote:
So, a typical week for me is

M: am 3 miles, pm 3 easy
Tu: am 3, pm hard workout with club + easy miles = 1.5 hours
W: am 3, pm 3 easy
Th: am 3, pm 1.5 hours high aerobic pace
F: off
Sat: marathon pace or tempo run 6-10 miles
Sun: long 2.5 hours with last mile or two at marathon pace

This is about 60 mpw for me and has been working out well for the last few months.


Good program. That´s about the way what you should look for base training.

My week

M: 30min easy
Tu: 40min easy
wu + 1hour subLT + cd
W: 40min easy
40min easy
Th:40min easy
wu + 8x1k LT-subVO2Max +cd
F: 30min easy
Sat: wu + sprints + 200´s @ mile-800pace + cd
40min easy
Sun: >2h steady

Easy week with off day(s) every 4th week. Training for 800 (surprised?).
outkicker
RE: Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running? 2/17/2012 12:43PM - in reply to bangalangadanga Reply | Return to Index | Report Post

bangalangadanga wrote:

sweet!

I hope this isn't a common misconception that lydiard training is super slow running. I felt like I was committing some kind of heresy doing most of my runs at a moderate / tempo effort.

I felt a lot better than just shuffling along really slowly!


I encourage you to do yourself a favor and pick up a book on Lydiard training. That can clear up lots of misconceptions and give you some context for what you're tying to accomplish. Not sure how you can expect to get good results following some system if you never took the time to learn the fundamentals of the system.

"Near-best aerobic effort" is a common term he uses.

Any of the following will work:
"Running to the Top" - Lydiard
"Running with Lydiard" - Lydiard
"The Self-Made Olympian" - Daws
"Running Your Best" - Daws
"Healthy Intelligent Training" - Livingstone, (specifically geared a bit to middle distances)
linklink
RE: Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running? 2/17/2012 1:12PM - in reply to Inf Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
What? That's your base phase? You're basically taking three days off from running per week! A double day of 3/3 is a useless day of running because it includes two useless runs! And why are you taking a day off every week in addition to this?

Make those Mondays and Wednesdays worthwhile. Run either a more substantial double (4/8 at least) or a worthwhile single (at least 8). And only take a day off when you need it, not every week. As long as you're not running your easy days too fast, this increase won't be a problem for you, but will make you much more fit after a couple of months.


Inf wrote:

I got my understanding of Lydiard base (aka marathon) training from Healthy Intelligent Training by Keith Livingstone and what I got out of it was basically:

2 weekly runs of 1.5 hours at "areobic" pace
1 long run of 2+ hours at easier pace
1 "marathon pace" run of about an hour (not quite tempo pace)

all other runs are supplementary.

So, a typical week for me is

M: am 3 miles, pm 3 easy
Tu: am 3, pm hard workout with club + easy miles = 1.5 hours
W: am 3, pm 3 easy
Th: am 3, pm 1.5 hours high aerobic pace
F: off
Sat: marathon pace or tempo run 6-10 miles
Sun: long 2.5 hours with last mile or two at marathon pace

This is about 60 mpw for me and has been working out well for the last few months.
Inf
RE: Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running? 2/17/2012 1:23PM - in reply to linklink Reply | Return to Index | Report Post

linklink wrote:

What? That's your base phase? You're basically taking three days off from running per week! A double day of 3/3 is a useless day of running because it includes two useless runs! And why are you taking a day off every week in addition to this?

Make those Mondays and Wednesdays worthwhile. Run either a more substantial double (4/8 at least) or a worthwhile single (at least 8). And only take a day off when you need it, not every week. As long as you're not running your easy days too fast, this increase won't be a problem for you, but will make you much more fit after a couple of months.



You could be right. I may try that. I'm just worried about over-doing it because in the past I've been injury prone and I'm currently enjoying a nice injury-free streak. I feel in great shape and I don't want to get too greedy and mess it up. That always seems to happen.
tempo run police
RE: Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running? 2/17/2012 2:24PM - in reply to Skeptic of it All Reply | Return to Index | Report Post

Skeptic of it All wrote:

I am not sure how long this one is going to last... seems like tempo run threads are getting deleted.

Here was my response to the 12 mile tempo question, which I posted in a separate thread but got the ax. Is someone playing a joke, seems like a good topic...




Rojo, delete this thread immediately. Someone brought up the "T" word again.
ex-rgs
RE: Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running? 2/17/2012 2:33PM - in reply to tempo run police Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
I think a lot of the confusion stems from the use of "LSD" ; )

LSD = Long Steady Distance

Somehow, I assume during the "low mileage steady dose of intervals" days of the early 90s, it began to be dismissed at Long Slow Distance.

During base building, my advice would be to run slow if you feel tired and run fast if you feel good. Don't worry about the rest of it...
linklink
RE: Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running? 2/17/2012 3:10PM - in reply to Inf Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
Fair enough. I ask because the idea in a base phase is to get in a lot of easy, aerobic running, building up your volume and gradually adding in quality until you start to hit the next phase.

Your program is almost all quality. Your only easy runs are 3 miles long. You have four workout days, and your other days are extremely low volume. In your base phase, I'd suggest skipping the club workout, adding a lot more miles on your easy days, and keeping the tempos (you've really got two listed) and your LR. Once you get closer to racing season, add the track workout or whatever it is you do on Tuesday back in and only sacrifice as much volume as is really necessary to accommodate that workout. Your schedule should maybe be more like this:

M - Easy. Single or double, but at least 8-10 miles total running. More if possible.
T - Easy as above. Strides or hill sprints after your primary run.
W - Tempo, or higher aerobic pace as you have above (like M pace)
Th - Easy, as Tuesday.
F - Tempo, as Saturday in your schedule
S - Easy, as Monday
Su - Long

If you need a day off, take it on Monday after your LR. Or just do a short shakeout that day. I'd suggest moving your tempo day to Friday so that you have an easy day before your LR. This will allow you to get more value out of the LR by making it easier to cut down the pace at the end of that run, allowing the recruitment of more fast twitch fibers as the slow twitch fibers tire.


Inf wrote:

You could be right. I may try that. I'm just worried about over-doing it because in the past I've been injury prone and I'm currently enjoying a nice injury-free streak. I feel in great shape and I don't want to get too greedy and mess it up. That always seems to happen.
predict my stuff
RE: Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running? 2/17/2012 3:24PM - in reply to ex-rgs Reply | Return to Index | Report Post

ex-rgs wrote:

Somehow, I assume during the "low mileage steady dose of intervals" days of the early 90s, it began to be dismissed at Long Slow Distance.




who exactly adopted this training philosophy in the 90s? which pro runners? or is this just a made up conclusion?
altoroad
RE: Should Tempo Runs Be Emphasized During Base Phase Over Super Slow Running? 2/17/2012 7:36PM - in reply to linklink Reply | Return to Index | Report Post

linklink wrote:

What? That's your base phase? You're basically taking three days off from running per week! A double day of 3/3 is a useless day of running because it includes two useless runs! And why are you taking a day off every week in addition to this?

Make those Mondays and Wednesdays worthwhile. Run either a more substantial double (4/8 at least) or a worthwhile single (at least 8). And only take a day off when you need it, not every week. As long as you're not running your easy days too fast, this increase won't be a problem for you, but will make you much more fit after a couple of months.

[quote]Inf wrote:
...

[/quote]

Given what Inf said about being injury-prone in another message, his plan might be just fine for him; those 3 mile runs aren't useless at all. In fact, his plan is fairly close to the approach Kenny Moore used last century.