Marathon Training - Tempo Runs will Put You There

Tempo runs are a critical component to Marathon training.  I try to work in 3 quality training days each week with one being a tempo day.  If you read much about running and runners, you know that tempo runs are a staple for the great marathon athletes.  Let me attempt to answer two key questions people ask about Tempo runs.  

First, what exactly is a tempo run?  A tempo run is a sustained run for at least 20 minutes and usually no more than 60 minutes at a pace that is approximately your ½ marathon or 15K pace. Don’t race these distances?  Shoot for 25-30 seconds slower than your 5K PR pace.  Give yourself 1-2 miles of warm up and cool down as well.  Sound hard?  It is.  Maintaining this pace for 20 minutes on a lonely solo run certainly helps develop a certain mental toughness.  However, if you can find a friend to run them with, I highly recommend it.  Now you know what it is, but why would you want to spend time every week working on this type of run?

While every quality day of training is important, Tempo runs are of specific importance because it stresses your lactate threshold and will help raise that threshold.  Each workout should have a purpose; recovery, aerobic conditioning, lactate threshold, acclimating to a pace, strength development, or raising your VO² max.  When you run at your threshold (about 80-90% of your max HR), lactate builds up very slowly and your body learns to efficiently remove it.  I’m told you even burn lactic acid as a form of fuel.  The problem is lactate can build up very quickly and will force you to slow you pace if you run at a sustained pace beyond your lactate threshold.  The goal is to raise your threshold such that you can run longer with an elevated HR without lactic acid building up.  If you can raise your threshold being triggered at 80% of max HR to 85% of your max HR, you will be feeling much better and running much faster when you hit mile 20. 

My personal goal is to get in 10 miles at TPace about 3 weeks before a marathon.  9 is the best I have done thus far, but maybe the next one.  Getting ready for Houston, my longest was 8 miles.  Today was my best.  Running solo and 6 miles at tempo pace hitting both my goal pace and distance felt very good.  I believe Tempo runs have been critical to hitting several marathon PR’s.  Add a weekly tempo run into your next marathon schedule and you may never hit the wall.