Tempo run???

[Erin_Akey]

Okay- showing my lack of experience here. We have a trainng plan for a half marathon that is 16 weeks starting today. Up until now we have been on our own training plan....This one has us running a half by November 28th at a pace of 15:21.....so I figure we will still have another month to train after we finish this....
My question is, it lists these runs as EASY RUN, TEMPO RUN, SPEEDWORK, etc.....what does this mean?

For example- by the easy run it says EASY RUN- DISTANCE 2 MILES WITH A PACE OF 17:09.....THIS SI WHAT IT SAID TO DO TODAY......
How do I run that slow???? I am REALLY SLOW and my pace ofr 3.1 miles is about 14:50???

Then it has us resting tomorrow or cross training and then on Wednesday it says LONG RUN.....7 miles with a pace of 17:09......now for 7 miles that is prob. right because I will have to walk part of that. the Friday is where i REALLY get confused......

here is what it says:

TEMPO RUN
dist. 5 miles, inc
Warm; 3 mi with 15:25 pace; cool.....

HELP??? WHAT DOES THIS MEAN????

 

[Erin_Akey]

Another term I don't get......
INTERVALS??? SO TEMPO RUN, INTERVALS, SPEEDWORK.....
NO CLUE WHAT ALL OF THESE MEAN?????
HELP PLEASE GANG!!!!

 

[dreamfinder]

Well, tempo run sounds like it is a run to get your body used to the speed you are shooting for. And since your estimated pace is approx the same as the pace on the tempo, well, that is it. Getting you to feel how fast your legs and stuff should move when you are at your desired end pace. Speedwork is usually short fast runs. Sprints and stuff like that. Help to work with your fast twitch muscles, while the slow runs are more endurance and slow twitch muscles. Intervals are kinda usually a combo of speedwork and slow/tempo. Run a while at a fast pace, and then go for a while at a slow pace. Something along those lines.

Most plans will try to cover all the assorted types of runs to make sure your muscles are well rounded. My personal training as a few days at a fast 5k race pace, a day of speedwork and weights, a long slow day, and a medium day at pace. With more weights on one of the long days.

 

[JillC LI]

I have to suggest that perhaps you don't have the training plan that is best for you. Some training plans will set your "easy" run at a pace that is 2 minutes slower than your "hard" runs. However, for a beginner, there is often little difference in pacing for easy and hard runs. At this stage, what you really want to do is not worry about your pace at all and just focus on gradually increasing distance. You should not increase your total weekly distance OR your long-run distance by more than 10% per week to avoid injury. If you want a clear definition of all those terms you referenced, your best bet is to buy a running book for beginners. Such a book will also likely have training plans in it.

Another pointer: training plans are designed to end on the date of the race. They include a build-up, a hold at peak level, and a taper. You do not want to add on 4 extra weeks to the END of a training plan or you will not be in prime condition to run the race. If you want to add onto a trianing plan you should add onto the BEGINNING to give yourself more time to reach a base level at which to start the program and end it on race day. Again, a beginners running book would be really helpful with all this. The Dave Whitsett book I mentioned the other day is my favorite. There are other ones by Jeff Galloway that are also excellent for beginners.
Jill :wave:

 

[Ariel484]

I could be wrong, but is this a plan from SmartCoach on RunnersWorld.com?

If so, this is what I’m using…I also thought the paces were slow in areas, and normally when I get out there I do end up a bit faster than what is prescribed (for example, Saturday was my long run and my average pace ended up being about a minute faster than what the plan called for). But I felt good at the end and liked that I did not feel pressure to go faster than I probably should have, which was an issue for me over the past couple of weeks. The easy run is supposed to be just that – easy, enjoyable even – so I think that explains the slow pace there. For me I just want to finish the (Princess) Half feeling good – I don’t need to be super speedy – so doing the distances and feeling comfortable after I finish is a huge mental boost. Not sure if that makes any sense! :veryconfu

As for the tempo run, this is how I read it – your total run is supposed to be 5 miles. This includes a warm-up, the tempo portion (from what you posted, 3 miles at a 15:25 pace), followed by a cool down. So I would assume you would warm up for a mile (walking, slow jogging, etc.), then do your 3 miles at tempo pace, then cool down for a mile (again, walking, slow jogging, whatever gets your heart rate back to normal) = 5 miles. It is similar for speedwork – I believe it’ll post something like “dist: 5 miles, inc. Warm; 2x1600 in 10:37 w/800 jogs; Cool” (that pace is from my plan). So like the tempo, do your warm-up, speedwork, and cooldown so that it adds to 5 miles: for example, 1.25 miles warm-up, one 1600 (this is 1 mile – 4 laps around a high school track) in 10:37, followed by a recovery jog of 800 meters (0.5 miles – 2 laps around a high school track), then your second mile at 10:37, and then your cool down of 1.25 miles. You could probably change the distances for the warm-up and cool down if you think you need a longer warm-up or longer cooldown, but this is what I’m planning on doing.

I agree with JillC that you should schedule this plan so that you complete it right when your race is, and don’t tack 4 weeks on the end. The SmartCoach site has an option that you could use called MAINTENANCE – during this time, your mileage does not increase at all, so it helps to keep you in shape, and you can build a base and get used to the different workouts. When you go to make your plan enter in the options as you did before, except that under “How hard do you want to train?” select “Maintenance” and for the time period select 4 weeks (or however long it goes until you can start a 16-week plan that ends on your Half). After the maintenance period you can start your half training. It should help keep you from burning out as well.

Sorry that this post was so long – again I could be wrong about the program you’re using (and if so just ignore this post :wave, but I just started this and the terminology you typed in sounds exactly like what I’ve been using. And I’m no expert but I like the maintenance option and am using that for the next 13 weeks or so until I begin the “real” training plan for the Princess Half. :king: Good luck!

 

[DisneyRunner]

I agree, JillC has some good advice. Don't increase your mileage more than ten percent a week. For example, if you are running ten miles total for the week, you should only be increasing your mileage over that week by one mile. And finish your program so the last run is race day. Also, the plan should have you doing fewer miles the last week or so. This is called a taper, so that you are rested for race day.
Here are some definitions from I plan I used in June. An easy run is designed for recovery, it should relaxed and slower than your race pace. Speed session, shorter distance, adequate recovery between sets. One lap slow, one lap fast for example. A long run is so your body, muscles ligaments, tendons, can adapt to the distance and aerobic training. A tempo run is a quicker paced run, 15 seconds per mile slower than race pace. My plan always included an one mile warm up and cool down with a tempo run.
For my first half, the goal was to finish regardless of time. I too, took walk breaks. I still take short walk breaks. Sometimes, I just need a short mental recovery.

 

[Erin_Akey]

Thanks for all the info....I am so confused!!!!
And yes this is the plan from runnersworld.com! i guess i need to change it to show the date of the race.....I didn't see an option for that, so i need to go look again.

Thanks all!
Erin

 

[Wilt Dasney]

I found a much simpler novice plan for a half on Hal Higdon's site...no differences in pacing, just running, cross training and strength training, with definitions for each.

I was planning on following that before I lost my mind and decided I wanted to run the full instead. :lol: Anyway, if you're interested, the half plan is at http://www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/novice.htm

 

[Erin_Akey]

Thanks!!!

 

[JillC LI]

I found a much simpler novice plan for a half on Hal Higdon's site...no differences in pacing, just running, cross training and strength training, with definitions for each.

I was planning on following that before I lost my mind and decided I wanted to run the full instead. :lol: Anyway, if you're interested, the half plan is at http://www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/novice.htm

Yes, Hal Higdon has some very good plans as well.

 

[Fievel]

I'll vouch for Hal Higdon's plan. It's more about building the distance necessary. It's the plan I'm currently use to train for the half in January.

 

[Erin_Akey]

Can you set this plan to the length you want? Could I start it now etc.? Or is it s set length where I need to start it later etc.?

 

[Fievel]

The length is set...I'm just in week 2 of the plan. The plan stresses doing the distance each week, regardless of speed.

I started it now, so I"ll finish about in November, at which point I can just continue to build distance so that by the time the half arrives in January, I'll have run further than the 13.1 needed.

 

[JillC LI]

The length is set...I'm just in week 2 of the plan. The plan stresses doing the distance each week, regardless of speed.

I started it now, so I"ll finish about in November, at which point I can just continue to build distance so that by the time the half arrives in January, I'll have run further than the 13.1 needed.

If you plan to build more distance before the race (which isn't necessarily a bad idea), I recommend that you shift the last 2 weeks of the plan until the final 2 weeks before the race because those 2 weeks will be a taper, and you don't want to taper, then build up again, then run the race without a taper or you won't be in prime form. Just a suggestion.