seems to be a lot of different answers out there!
seems to be a lot of different answers out there!
What were the four answers? My answer: any training run you intend to do at goal race pace.
A tempo run is a workout where your objective is to run continuously at a steady fast pace, typically between marathon pace and 10k pace.
even seasoned, top-notch competitors either don’t know or don’t care what a tempo run really is. This is surprising, because the term is clearly and simply defined by coaches and exercise physiologists. And this is not a matter of nit-picking semantics; doing a tempo run incorrectly greatly compromises its training benefits.
For me a tempo run has always been 30 seconds slower per mile than my 5K pace.
no one does wrote:
even seasoned, top-notch competitors either don’t know or don’t care what a tempo run really is. This is surprising, because the term is clearly and simply defined by coaches and exercise physiologists. And this is not a matter of nit-picking semantics; doing a tempo run incorrectly greatly compromises its training benefits.
Idiot. Show us what this "clearly and simply defined" tempo run is.
lol running nerds are funny wrote:
seems to be a lot of different answers out there!
Not surprising.
A tempo run is a continuous distance run where any part of the run is done at some kind of tempo that is not considered an easy pace or a recovery pace.
The earlier descriptions fall within this definition.
Examples:
Fartlek
Out slow, back faster
Steady run at a pace quicker than a recovery run
I thought a tempo run was running to different tempos of music on your MP3 player?
"Tempo" means time, so it is any run that is timed.
My broadest definition would be "a continuous,sustained run of at least 3 miles at a hard pace." If it doesn't fit that description, it's not a tempo.
There are lots of variations within this. Anything from 4 miles at 10-mile race pace to 15 miles at marathon race pace. Daniels has some specific physiological answer (I think at vVO2 max pace? which is supposed to be the pace you can sustain for an hour).
It is a run than includes some time at tempo pace
So the biggest difference between your definition and mine is that you think it was to be a sustained pace and that a fartlek is a different category of running instead of a sub-category of a tempo run.
Thought from anyone?
Is a fartlek a tempo run?
Maybe my definition was too broad.
recognizer of ex phys idiots wrote:
Idiot. Show us what this "clearly and simply defined" tempo run is.
It's not so much that there is no "clear and simple" definition of a tempo run. It's that there are so many different "clear and simple" definitions to choose from.
this thread sure is clearing up the confusion!
This...
tenacious tom wrote:
For me a tempo run has always been 30 seconds slower per mile than my 5K pace.
I thought it was 10k pace+10 sec.
I have always considered a fartlek to be different from a tempo, yes.Regardless, I think this thread clearly shows there is some commonality in the definition of a tempo. Everybody agrees it is not interval training, it is not a recovery day, it is something submaximal but faster than easy pace, and is fairly lengthy and timed.
* wrote:
So the biggest difference between your definition and mine is that you think it was to be a sustained pace and that a fartlek is a different category of running instead of a sub-category of a tempo run.
Thought from anyone?
Is a fartlek a tempo run?
Maybe my definition was too broad.
I'm not sure it really matters because no one says "Go do a tempo" and sends you on your way. A coach would say something more like "for your tempo this week go do 10 miles at MP" as a random example.
aquafina wrote:
I thought it was 10k pace+10 sec.
The real term (in time/km) is race pace for distance run + 15 seconds per km extra.
Examples
your 6k is 20:30, 3:25/km. If you are doing a 6k tempo run, you can make the tempo pace 3:40/km to hit 22:00.
your 10k is 35:30, 3:33/km. If you are doing a 10k tempo run, the tempo pace is now 3:48/km to hit 38:00.
This rule can be applied all the up to marathon training.
I would not do 10k pace + 10 sec/km if the tempo were for 10 miles because that is a borderline time trial, and the same would go for a 5k tempo because that would be a bit too slow.
If you guys have Daniles Running Formula, his raw Tempo pace (T - Threshold) is for a 20 minute run, and it definitely slows down as you increase the duration of the run.