What would you expect out of someone from this tempo workout

no. I think 28:15 is more like it

That's not a tempo, that's a time trial

That 3 miles temp looks more like an all out effort. Add two more slower miles to it and it's more like 29:00+.

Even with some improvement - 28:40

I doubt you could break 30:00 right now, so I in 4 months - 29:00 maybe if you have talent

It really depends on what your training has been recently. Did you go into this tempo after a stretch of hard training, or were you feeling fresh? Did you just take a stretch of time off after track and ran this tempo just now, so are actually at your worst fitness?

It also depends on your age, what you've been running in previous years, and how many years you've been training.

Also, a tempo shouldn't be full effort. It sounds like you actually ran a time trial?

Anyway, last thing I'd say is don't get hung up on a single bad workout. The key to this sport is continued hard work even when you have been feeling off.

You basically ran at 5k pace for your 3 mile "Tempo." Looks like you're in around mid 17 5k shape which is about what I'm running. I've run 29:00 flat 2 times for a road 8k. The second one was into a 15 mph headwind the entire way (point to point course) and was probably worth ~ 28 mid to 28 low. So I'll say you're in around 28:17 shape.

Last season I was running tempos about the same pace: 20 minutes at 5:35-5:50/mile on the roads. Ended up with a Ran 27:54, 28:10, 27:20, 26:12 (maybe a short course), then 26:38 at conference.

Are you guys saying I am currently in 29-30 shape, or that after intervals , vo2 max, and hill training which Ive done none of I will be at 29-30 shape?

I'd say you are currently in 29:00+ shape. Dropping 2:00+ in 4 months would be a rather large jump in fitness. Might raise some red flags at lrc

You have to consider the weather too- makes a big difference. Wind, heat, humidity, plus also hills- how does it compare to your race conditions.

21011 wrote:

You have to consider the weather too- makes a big difference. Wind, heat, humidity, plus also hills- how does it compare to your race conditions.

Came here to say this. I am a 28:40 guy, but right now, with the heat and humidity, I can't touch that. I just started doing tempo runs again. My first one was 4 miles @6:15. Slow, but I am not worried. Race speed comes from in season workouts. Tempo runs during the summer are just to get your legs moving.

I couldn't break 5:55 pace for most of my tempos three summers ago and ended up running 26:20 that fall, which I repeated a few times. Does that mean everyone who runs 5:55 paced tempos will run that fast in the fall? No, but the point is summer workouts can be a crapshoot. If you're hitting great splits, that's great, if you're not, they have far less bearing on your fall than you think they will. The fact that you're getting your heart rate up and training hard is what matters.

I wouldn't even bother thinking about it:

-Your mileage is higher than the end of the season because you're base training: your tempo will be slower.

-You haven't done that many workouts yet because you're base training: your tempo will be slower.

-It's summer, so there's a good chance it's hot and humid: your tempo will be slower.

-You ran your tempo on a hilly route: your tempo will be slower.

All of these things will hinder you, not to mention any other factors like your age, the amount of sleep you're getting, or what kind of summer job you have over the summer. I'm not going to try predicting your fall XC time based off of a workout done in mid-July, and neither should you.

Option_D2 wrote:

Are you guys saying I am currently in 29-30 shape, or that after intervals , vo2 max, and hill training which Ive done none of I will be at 29-30 shape?

We can only guess what your actual shape is right now. You wouldn't technically know until you run an actual 8K race.

But yes, my guess is around 30 or a little less.

And we also have no idea what proper hill and interval training will do for your over the course of the upcoming season.

What has your training been like this summer? Mostly base stuff? If you haven't already, I would recommend adding a true tempo run each week. As others pointed out, your probably time trialed more than you tempo-ed. Most people agree tempo pace should be around your 1 hour pace. For you that is probably closer to 6:30 or something. Start with 3 miles and work your way up to 5 or 6 miles. Slowly work your way up. If you're adding miles and you feel super fatigued at the end of one of those, stop at 4.5 miles. These runs shouldn't bury you, but they should really test you aerobically and help you toughen up a bit physically and mentally.

The other thing I would suggest is to not overly stress about chasing times. It is so easy to do. And often it is counterproductive. Focus on your runs right now. Visualize racing hard and all the fun stuff that goes with it, but don't get hung up on a time.

Focus on your miles, work on some comfortably hard tempos, and get in some faster strides a couple days a week. And be relaxed about it all. If you can do that, you'll surprise yourself at what you can accomplish in late October and November.

"or that after intervals , vo2 max, and hill training which Ive done none of"

You need to stop base training and immediately start the Summer of Malmo workouts. Call this ill advised attempt long intervals and plan for a real tempo run this weekend. I suggest 2 laps of your hilly 3 mile course at an average of 7:00 pace. The first mile should be 7:15 and the last 6:45 with 4 in the middle near 7:00. If that 6 mile run @ 7:00 doesn't feel easy, then try say 6 x 800 in 3:15 on the track for next weeks long intervals. If it does feel easy then do 4 x 1200 in 4:20. The rest between should be long enough so the intensity level is nothing like it will be in the fall.

http://www.bunnhill.com/BobHodge/rtp3.htm

There is NO way to test your fitness until the fall either at your first meet or maybe during practice if your coach tells you to.