Serious Answer wrote:
[quote]
Concrete example: I used to always do tempo runs straight thru: 4-mile tempo, 6-mile tempo, etc. Daniels recommends doing the majority of tempo runs with a minute break between every mile [eg. 6x(1miT w 1min jog)], so that you stay aerobic.
Is this from the third edition of his book? From what I have read, he does advocate cruise intervals (intervals done at tempo pace with 1 minute of rest in between for every 5 minutes run at tempo pace), but he suggests using those as a way to (a) break the monotony of slogging through a 20 minute tempo run every week, and (b) allow you to get in a slightly higher volume of work at tempo pace than you might otherwise get in during a continuous 20 minute tempo run.
But, at least in the older iterations of his book, he definitely advocates continuous 20 minute tempo runs and notes that they have the additional benefit of forcing the athlete to focus on pace for extended periods, particularly while uncomfortable. I am just wondering if he changed his position in the third edition of his book, which I have not read.
Otherwise, I wholeheartedly agree with your read of Daniels' approach. And, for the record, I pretty regularly incorporate cruise intervals as part of my tempo workouts, as well as slightly slower and longer tempo efforts and progression runs (starting out a little slower than tempo pace and finishing up just a touch faster).