Your Perfect Tempo Run

In the May issue of Runner’s World, they had a great article on Tempo runs which seems to match the best advice I have found from Pfitzinger, Daniels, and Galloway. 

Here’s a few choice quotes from the article:

First, from coach Toby Tanser. “In 1995, when Tanser was an elite young track runner from Sweden, he trained with the Kenyan's "A" team for seven months. They ran classic tempos--a slow 15-minute warmup, followed by at least 20 minutes at a challenging but manageable pace, then a 15-minute cooldown--as often as twice a week. "The foundation of Kenyan running is based almost exclusively on tempo training," says Tanser. "It changed my view on training."

"Tempo training is more important than speedwork for the half and full marathon," says Loveland, Colorado, coach Gale Bernhardt, author of Training Plans for Multisport Athletes.

They offer this advice for finding your right tempo pace:

To ensure you're doing tempo workouts at the right pace, use one of these four methods to gauge your intensity.

Recent Race: Add 30 to 40 seconds to your current 5-K pace or 15 to 20 seconds to your 10-K pace

Heart Rate: 85 to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate

Perceived Exertion: An 8 on a 1-to-10 scale (a comfortable effort would be a 5; racing would be close to a 10)

Talk Test: A question like "Pace okay?" should be possible, but conversation won't be.

 

Here’s the full article in a printer-friendly page:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/printer/1,7124,s6-238-267--11909-0,00.html