Please type your comments directly in the reply box - DO NOT copy/paste text from somewhere else into the reply boxes - this will also copy the code behind your copied text and publish that with your reply, making it impossible to read. Our apology for the inconvenience, but we don't see a convenient way of fixing this yet.
-
Posts
-
Tempo Practice
You are going to use the lean of your body line to adjust speed, and focus on those skills that keep your body relaxed even as you gradually speed up. You will run faster which will initially feel a bit more uncomfortable, but then you will use your skills to make it feel more comfortable.
In this practice it works best if you have some record or estimate of your current average mile or kilometer pace for the race you are preparing for – 5 km or 13.1 mile distance.
You may divide your run into four equal distance segments.
You are going to shift pace, like shifting gears, on each segment, starting the first segment at slightly slower than race pace then gradually shifting into a faster gear until you are running faster than your target race pace on the last one.
For example, if your average target race pace is 8:30 per mile (5:16 per km), then you will shift pace gears:
- Segment 1 – 8:40
- Segment 2 – 8:35
- Segment 3 – 8:25
- Segment 4 – 8:20
As the weeks progress, you will lower your average pace. In the first week, if your average race pace was P = 8:30, then in the third week the race pace to use in the Tempo Practice is P – 5 seconds = 8:25. You may adjust this change in pace if it needs to be a little less or a little more from week to week.
It will be most convenient if you can run on a course with known distance, or distance markers so you set your pace by feel and then check your pace by your watch when you finish each segment. Or run on a track.
If you have specialized running watch with distance tracker, you can run anywhere, and if the watch shows you current pace then you can make your segments any distance you like.
If you do not have a course of known distance, or a fancy running watch, you may use a simple watch chronometer and divide your total run time into four timed segments and then set your pace by feel, like this:
- Segment 1 – less than race pace (I could run this pace twice the distance)
- Segment 2 – feels slightly less than race pace
- Segment 3 – feels slightly faster than race pace
- Segment 4 – feels brisk (I don’t think I could run this the entire 5 km)
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.