The Tempo run – what is it, and why is it so important?
You’ve seen it in your programme, probably completed many. But what are the theories behind tempo runs, and what makes them so important?
Using tempo runs will help you increase your long-distance speed, help manage the lactic acid build and can be extremely useful to focus on running technique at the mid and end stages of marathon training. The words tempo and threshold are often used interchangeably, are they right, or wrong? Let’s have a look.
- Tempo or Threshold?
- Managing lactate.
- Start slow and build
If you’re interested in the science behind lactic acid build-up, check out last month’s blog where we had a dive into that subject.
Tempo or Threshold?
A tempo run can be described as a comfortably hard run for an extended period of time – usually between 20 minutes and an hour. A threshold run works on the same principles, using a speed derived from a flat-out 60-minute run. So if you are training for a marathon you are running faster than the race pace. Is this comfortably hard? I would suggest your tempo and threshold runs are the same and that the names are interchangeable. I would also tell that without blood lactate measuring, it is not possible for a running with an HR monitor to distinguish the difference between the two. What you will have is a tough run that causes your body to produce lactic acid – as you increase your threshold run times, your body will become more efficient at managing and clearing this lactate which is recycled and used for fuel. Then on race day, at a slower pace, you should be comfortable clearing the lactate as it is produced. The reason you will see tempo runs shorter than 20 minutes and used more often is that the same principle is used in shorter races, so a 20-minute 5km runner will still do tempo runs, but everything is a little shorter.
Managing Lactate
Tempo runs optimise the point where your energy system used moves from anaerobic to aerobic. When this happens lactate gets produced within the blood and needs to be cleared by the body. Some of it gets cleared through the lymphatic system, some are utilised by the kidneys as energy. That horrible burning, sickness in the stomach and sometimes headaches can be enough to halt even the most persistent competitor. If you don’t learn to manage this process and make it efficient, you will not be able to maintain pace until the end of your race. They can be extremely testing, running above race pace for maintained amounts of time, yet are vital to improvement over long distances.
Start slow and build
Don’t worry, these are supposed to be challenging. If you are running a marathon, you want to be able to complete a 60-minute tempo run. But not straight away, manage expectations and don’t expect to exceed your target race pace significantly and maintain it for an hour. Once you have your pace estimate, start with 20 minutes. If that’s too much, do 10. As you improve add another repetition or stretch the time out to 30. You would be shocked at the gains you will make in just 6-8 weeks. This is advice for 10km and 5km runners too. If you are a beginner, start with 400m or 800m reps. You will improve quickly early on, and then start meeting the requirements you want to improve as a runner.
Recap
- Make sure to have a look at last month’s blog on lactic acid build-up, this will show you the science in tempo runs.
- Tempo and threshold can be used interchangeably.
- Run faster than your race pace challenging your anaerobic/aerobic crossover to successfully manage lactate build-up.
- Make the runs specific to your time goal, and be smart by not pushing yourself too quickly.