FitSugar

Get It Up, Your Heart Rate That ls: Your First Tempo Run

FitSugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 05:30:00 -0700

When you get right down to it, running is not about being comfortable; it's about pushing limits. Once you have been running for a while, to stay engaged in the repetitive act of putting one foot in front of the other, you have to challenge yourself. One such challenge is to run faster. This quest for speed is why so many running schedules contain a variety of runs. The long, slow run for endurance mixed with interval and tempo workouts for speed.

A tempo run is exciting and a little nerve-wracking because the goal is to work outside of your comfort zone, but at a steady pace unlike intervals where periods of pushing yourself hard are followed by a period of recovery. The one advantage of the tempo run is that it is short. This decrease in time hopefully makes up for the increase in sustained intensity. A tempo run is not sprinting, but as ultra marathoner Dean Karnazes puts it " running comfortably hard." I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but trying to find that comfortable, yet hard pace will force you to challenge yourself while listening to your body. Experiment until you find a pace you can sustain without beginning to struggle.

To see what your first tempo run should look like, just read more.

00:00-10:00	Warm up: Jog
10:00-20:00	Tempo: Run
20:00-30:00	Cool down: Jog

You should aim to do a tempo run every seven to ten days. As you progress, keep this simple formula, but add a couple minutes to the tempo run portion of your workout.

Here are a few more parameters Runner's World offers for figuring out your tempo run pace:

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 OK?" should be possible, but conversation won't be.

Now tell me when are you going to try your first tempo run? Speed work is not meant for beginning runners, but runners with a solid base of fitness looking to improve their fitness level.

Source

Back to Basics: Tempo Run

FitSugar — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 04:00:00 -0800

In the world of running, there are some basic terms for basic elements of training. One such term you might run into often is tempo run, and believe it or not, it doesn't mean running to the beat of your favorite JT song.

The tempo run is an essential part of any race training routine, and is simply an approximately 20 to 40 minute run at a hard, but controlled pace. Tempo runs have many aliases, and you might have heard them referred to as lactate-threshold, LT, or threshold runs. But a tempo run by any other name would still be just as sweet.

On second thought, "sweet" might not be the most appropriate term for a tempo run since they can be fairly taxing. On a more technical level, you are physiologically hovering just below your anaerobic threshold. That is the greatest effort your body can put forth without building up lactic acid, the muscular waste product that causes discomfort and fatigue, aka heavy leg sensation. So a tempo run is taxing, but you shouldn't be out of breath while running it. The goal of this type of practice run is to improve your race pace and help improve your overall efficiency.

To see how to figure out your tempo just read more

Here are a few ways from Runner's World to figure out how to find your tempo for a tempo run.

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 OK?" should be possible, but conversation won't be.

Source

Running 101: Recovery Run

FitSugar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:00:48 -0700

When you start to go deep with running, you slowly begin to encounter the jargon of the sport. One such term you might skim over is recovery run. Though the terms might seem simple, the concept is important. A recovery run follows a hard workout day of intervals or speed work or a tempo run, and you run slowly at conversational pace. Think of a recovery run as an active recovery to get the blood flowing into your muscles to ease stiffness. Some people refer to these runs as junk miles, especially when a running is working to meet weekly or monthly mileage goals. When training for endurance events, these long slow runs help folks build a solid base of fitness.

Do you take recovery runs? Do you think of them as junk miles?

Flickr User yourdon

Your Brain on Running

FitSugar — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:00:59 -0700

I have read many an article explaining how to run smarter, not harder, but according to a few recent studies discussed on the blog Well, running hard could actually make you smarter. While the majority of the research has been done on rats, both human and animal studies have found that working hard aerobically sharpens the senses and primes the brain for problem solving. When I think about it, the connection between running and thinking seems related to human evolution: run hard from your predator and devise a way to outwit the beast of prey. The scientists working with rats may ask that we don't jump to the conclusion that what works for rats will work for us, but I am adding these studies to my motivational arsenal when it comes time for a tempo run or sprint interval workout.

Free Workout Music From Podrunner

FitSugar — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 03:00:03 -0700

Music is the great fitness motivator, and the faster the beat, the faster you move. If you're looking for an entire playlist that offers non-stop, fixed tempo music for your running, walking, or cycling workouts, check out Podrunner.

The site offers free workout playlists to help keep your pace constant, with ranges between 152 to 181 beats per minute. Podrunner also has mixes designed for interval training. You can download these music mixes online or through iTunes, and the MP3 files can be played on most digital music players. The playlists are all electronica, and the music is energetic and upbeat. Best of all, it's free.

Fit Tip: Dedicate One Day a Week to an Easy Workout

FitSugar — Mon, 04 May 2009 03:00:00 -0700

Cardio is important for strengthening your heart, lungs, and muscles, but you don't need to go full force every time you work out. Whether you enjoy running, biking, swimming, dancing, or some other type of cardio, dedicate one day a week to an easy day. I don't mean rest completely and do nothing physical, just do a lighter version of your regular cardio workout. Doing only tempo runs or sprint intervals can be really hard on your joints. Slowing down allows your body time to adapt to the demands you place on it with your tougher workouts. I find Mondays a perfect day to put this idea into practice, how about you?

Source

Increase the Intensity of Your Workouts to Burn More Fat

FitSugar — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:30:00 -0700

I am a fan of mixing up my cardio pace - long, slow runs for endurance, tempo runs for speed, and interval training for a mixture of the two. Lately, I have a hard time revving up for my higher intensity workouts, since they're hard. I have a new piece of motivation though: Vigorous exercise raises levels of fat-burning hormones, which means more bang for my cardio investment. These hormones raise the level of calories burned post-workout, known as the afterburn.

Adding shorter but faster-paced workouts to your fitness regimen will help you decrease total body fat. High intensity workouts help decrease the amount of visceral fat, too - that's the dangerous fat that surrounds the liver and kidneys associated with diabetes and heart disease. One last reason to up the intensity is that it will also save you time, since you can burn the same calories in a shorter amount of time. If you walk for exercise, you can still work at a higher intensity and aim to walk at a very brisk 4.5-mile-per-hour rate.

Source

The Skinny on Lactic Acid

FitSugar — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 10:00:00 -0800

When I was a young runner, lactic acid was blamed for the delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) that interfered with my ability to climb onto the school bus with ease the day following a hard practice. Since then, we have learned that post-exercise pain is caused by micro tears created when we tax our muscles, and the former scapegoat, lactic acid, doesn't hang out in muscles after a workout. Lactic acid actually fuels our cells when we push ourselves during high intensity workouts. It is hydrogen ions, a by-product of burning lactic acid as fuel, which creates the heavy legged sensation, burning sensation that accompanies running hard and fast.

You will come across the term "lactate threshold" when reading intense training manuals. This threshold is when the lactic acid begins to accumulate in the blood. And when you push yourself to work past that threshold, you train your body to better deal with the biological by product of using lactic acid as fuel. Increasing your lactate threshold helps you run faster for longer and is considered a good performance predictor for endurance events. Training to increase this threshold involves tempo runs and interval training with long steady paced runs. So now that you know how to increase your lactate threshold, will you?

Source

Words That Move You . . .

FitSugar — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:00:00 -0800

"You only ever grow as a human being if you're outside your comfort zone."
- Percy Cerutty, Olympic track and field coach

When I am trying to psych myself up for a tempo run, I use this quote as my mantra. Need more motivation? Check out all of my words that move you.

Source

Breathing and Running

FitSugar — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:00:00 -0800

When it comes to breathing while running, you need to focus on the rhythm. Coach Jenny over at Runner's World says you can even think of it as a dance between the two elements if you'd like.

You should match your breathing to your steps. For an easy-paced run, inhale for three or four steps then exhale for the same amount. Count the steps in your head while you adjust to breathing on tempo. If you are running more intensely, your breathing tempo will increase to support your increased energy output. So the rhythm is more like a breath in for one to two steps and out for one to two steps. If you can't match your steps to breathing tempo then you are trying to run too fast, slow down, and get back into your rhythm.

Source