slingin wrote:
Part of the issue of the continuous tempo is physiological it is demoralizing to see your splits get slower instead of faster.
If you have 4 miles @5:30 pace and you split your first mile at 5:20, most people don’t want to slow down to the actual pace but keep pushing harder.
I think the best place for these tempos is near the end of the season as a confidence booster.
It’s a pretty well known workout for a 3:59 miler that you should be able to do a 4 mile tempo in under 20 minutes. But the thing is you could take a 4:05 miler and have then rub the same thing. Sure it wouldn’t be at their actual threshold, but it might give the athlete the idea that it is.
A 4:00 miler doing a 4 mile tempo should be around 19:00-19:30, in my opinion. 20:00 for 4 miles would be more so for the 4:05-4:10 guys.
Tempo runs for 800m/1500m/5k runners are there to help develop physiological aspects and pacing. A tempo, 10-20 minutes by my reckoning, makes you run at a pace that isn't exactly comfortable. And then you have to deal with managing the tired feelings you get or getting dropped by teammates and keep plugging along at the same pace.
Intervals are a lot more manageable for some people because shorter distances are a lot easier mentally and you can get away with bad pacing. But the longer you make each repetition the harder it becomes mentally and the more important even pacing becomes.
Even if I feel like trash, I could go out and rep out some 400's because they are short. If I feel bad, there is no way I will tango with a tempo or steady-state because I know that I will cave mentally and probably drop out of my workout.