so we have our hypothetical runner who is progressing in training; getting more fit and faster.
as fitness improves, during tempo workouts, should our runner increase the time spent at tempo pace, or keep the time the same and speed up?
which would you see as offering the greater benefit, and why?
would it matter what the runner is training for? in other words, would faster tempo work be better for a trackster and longer tempos better for a marathoner?
tempo questioner wrote:
would it matter what the runner is training for? in other words, would faster tempo work be better for a trackster and longer tempos better for a marathoner?
Yes. At the risk of oversimplifying, the long the target race distance, the more effective a long tempo run will be. Depending on where you are in your season, the tempo run might also receive little, or no emphasis (e.g. a mid/late-season miler).
You should adjust the pace for longer efforts. A 5:00 pace for twenty minutes doesn't extrapolate to 5:00 for 45 minutes. Daniels has a good table in the 2nd edition for pace regression as the duration of the tempo run increases.
Depends on the stage of training one is at to some extent. Closer to a peak race it will vary more. 1-3 months out most people should be doing both on a relatively regular rotation.
Let's say you're doing 5/10k on the track. Then the tempos are very valuable but for most people they're not the most important workout as you get towards peak race. If you're doing a tempo every week/10 days switching it between 20-30 minutes at the faster end of tempo (Daniels' pace) and 40-60 minutes at marathon pace or a little over could be beneficial.
Concentrating on a tempo for 40 minutes makes the 10k racing seem much easier mentally since you're used to focusing for a while. 1000-2000 meter intervals let you switch off mentally, which you can't do in a race.
I think the same is true for marathoners, though marathoners might only have a track session every 2-3 weeks. One long session at marathon pace, and one session of 1-3 mile runs at the faster end of tempo pace is a good marathon training week.
any source for the daniels table other than the book?
I guess I'd answer your question this way: as your fitness improves and you ahve race data to back it up, your VDOT would also improve and your tempo pace would change--it would obviously get faster. Daniels says, though, to resist the temptation to do your tempos faster each time but instead to do them at the same pace and feel it get easier--at least until your have data that says your VDOT has improved.
The kids I coach do relatively short tempo work: 800s and 1000s (girls) or 1000s/miles (boys), with a workout or two longer than that occasionally. We do short rests.
Colin Sahlman runs 1:45 and Nico Young runs 1:47 in the 800m tonight at the Desert Heat Classic
Molly Seidel Fails To Debut As An Ultra Runner After Running A Road Marathon The Week Before
Megan Keith (14:43) DESTROYS Parker Valby's 5000 PB in Shanghai
Hallowed sub-16 barrier finally falls - 3 teams led by Villanova's 15:51.91 do it at Penn Relays!!!
Need female opinions: I’m dating a woman that is very sexual with me in public. Any tips/insight?