I know there is a lot of discussion on the proper way to do a tempo run. Some people run 80% the entire time. Others start slow, peak at the middle, and end slow. I am specifically training for high school XC (5K). At what intensity should I do my tempo runs? How long should they be?
A lot depends on how many miles you’re currently running. What I do with my beginners is, after a warm up, have them run 10 minutes in one direction, turn around, and come back in the same time, maybe a bit faster.
You can apply this concept to any distance tempo run. If you’re a 60 mile a week guy. Do the same thing except go out 20 before turning around.
The goal is the biggest possible distance without blowing up on the way back.
I like to go 30-40 seconds per mile slower than 5k pace for a 3-4 mile tempo.
Sometimes (these arent technically considered tempos) I will go for 2-3 miles at the pace I run during XC when im not surging/starting/finishing
md006 wrote:
I know there is a lot of discussion on the proper way to do a tempo run. Some people run 80% the entire time. Others start slow, peak at the middle, and end slow. I am specifically training for high school XC (5K). At what intensity should I do my tempo runs? How long should they be?
Over 20 minutes usually, and you should feel your breathing hard.
Your 5K PR is around 22 minutes, right? That's right around 7:05 pace. So your tempo pace is 25 seconds/mile slower, or 7:30/mile.
Tomorrow, run for 5 minutes at this pace. That's 2/3 of a mile, less than 1200 meters. Very doable, and you'll get a feel for the pace.
Next week, do 7 minutes.
Each week, add a minute or two. In 7-8 weeks, you'll be up to 20 minutes.
If it starts to feel too intense, break up the run into 2-3 chunks, like 5-5-5 minutes. Then reduce the number and length of breaks between chunks.
Your target distance is 5K, and you're a long way from racing, so concentrate on getting up to 20 minutes for now. At some point, 7:30 per mile will start to feel too easy, so you'll be able to speed up while still feeling tempo pace.
That is how do do a tempo run.
Tempos I go 30-40sec slower than current 5k pace (not goal fyi). Traditional for high school I have my athletes go 3-4 miles. You can also go for time which can be 20-30min. How many mpw you running and whats your 5k time?
citius5000 wrote:
Tempos I go 30-40sec slower than current 5k pace (not goal fyi). Traditional for high school I have my athletes go 3-4 miles. You can also go for time which can be 20-30min. How many mpw you running and whats your 5k time?
I was injured about a month ago, and have not been running much since then. I am going to start again with about 20 mpw this coming Monday. My mileage during the XC season was about 30, and 20 was always comfortably easy for me, which is why I'm starting there, so that I don't reinjure myself. My PR this past season was 21:46, (7 flat pace) though that was only halfway through the racing season, so I could possibly have done much better. Instead of doing crazy intervals on the track, I am sticking to once a week tempos and the rest easy/recovery/easy long runs for a few months, so I can get back to the fitness I was before, and improve on that. I always feel like when doing tempos, I am going way too hard. Over the summer, I would usually PR on tempo runs (about 5k), and was really confused about my pacing. Instead of doing tempos, I may try to do split up tempos to work on even pacing/splits: one mile tempo, rest, one mile tempo rest, one mile tempo. Is this a good idea or should I not add rest or change something else, etc?
By the way, my first tempo is going to be on this coming Thursday, November 5. Just wanted to let you know because I need a response by then, preferably sooner than that.
tempo intervals are great... you could either do 1000s or 1600 intervals. 60 seconds rest for 1000s. 60-90 seconds for 1600s. If you are doing intervals, 20 seconds slower than race pace is good. 7:20. start with 5x1000 or 3x1600. work up to 8x1000 or 5x1600. You could even do a second day of the week with 400s, somewhere between that pace and your 5k pace. With your current volume, 12x400 with 60s rest is adequate. Maybe closer to 90 seconds if you are at race pace.
or just do a 20 minute or 3 mile tempo at 30 to 40 seconds slower than race pace. it is all good. 5 miles at 45-60 seconds slower than race pace as well.
there is no one answer. mix it up.