How do you approach a low-mileage tempo run? (Read 1073 times)

Today I was scheduled to do a 2.0 mile tempo run. My tempo is probably about 10-10:30mm. I'm still in the process of building mileage. I usually start any run with a 5 minute brisk walk. My first 1.5-2 miles is always done at a very slow pace, just to get myself warmed up. After that, I usually can fall into a pretty relaxed even pace for the remainder of my easy runs. However, I was unsure how to approach this tempo run today. Turns out, I think I did some no no's: Yesterday, I did an exercise DVD (Jillian Michaels to be exact) which totally whooped my ass. And man, am I feeling it EVERYWHERE today. Also, since I knew I couldn't do the slow 1-2 mile jog I usually do, I skipped the warm-up walk and did a quick little 2 or 3 minute jog before I started my tempo pace. I got my ass kicked! Don't know if it was the inability to have my warmup jog, or if Jillian really hurt me more than I thought. As if that wasn't enough, my garmin was protesting today and I wound up going without it. So I have no idea what my pace even was. Can anyone tell me what to do to get a proper warm up when I have a short little tempo run like this? I couldn't even make the 2 miles without having to walk in between!

I would be hesitant to do a tempo run while you are still building up mileage. Wait until you're at least up to 30 mpw would be my recommendation. When I do tempo runs, I usually take 2 miles to warm up, do the tempo, and then at least a mile of cool-down. You need at least your usually warm-up, if not a little more. Be patient, progress in distance running comes slowly. Build up your mileage and you'll get much faster than if you try to toss in tempos at this point.

I'm starting a running plan for a 10K from runner's world. It was designed for a 11-15mpw runner, so why would it be too soon to do this? I don't see the harm in a temp run, as I've done a few 5ks and 5mile races already. I can understand not doing speedwork or hill work yet, but I'm following what I think is a pretty reputable plan.

Hmmm... That seems legitimate. My concern is that you're only running 11-15 mpw, and putting the extra effort in to do a tempo run makes it harder to add to your weekly mileage, which at the 11-15 mpw is more important (in my opinion). For me, the most important factor in improving is running more miles, with the workouts that you do coming in after that. If your workouts get in the way of running more miles, I think that they should be put aside until you're doing more miles.

of course, if things dont work out according to the plan, its not a big deal anyway. There are no 10k's scheduled in my area any time soon, and I'm planning on trying to get pregnant in january. I was just hoping to be able to at least run a TEMPO 10k by january even if racing in one wasn't an option. but its no biggie in the grand scheme of things. just a personal goal i set

I think the issue here is recovery. Your body was letting you know that you'd had a hard workout the day before. OK it wasn't running but it was still a hard workout for you. The fact that you were not comfortable with the warmup the next day would indicate that it was not the day to do a tempo. Normal rules are that a hard day should be followed by an easy one etc. It's good to push the body occasionally but you do need to give it time to recover properly for the next effort. Further down the line with more fitness gained you may well be able to recover more quickly - your body will let you know.

Hmmm... That seems legitimate. My concern is that you're only running 11-15 mpw, and putting the extra effort in to do a tempo run makes it harder to add to your weekly mileage, which at the 11-15 mpw is more important (in my opinion). For me, the most important factor in improving is running more miles, with the workouts that you do coming in after that. If your workouts get in the way of running more miles, I think that they should be put aside until you're doing more miles.

+1. I'm just a novice myself but I think your effort should be geared to increasing miles as well. At 11-15 MPW, running more miles will be of far more benefit than a weekly tempo. Just because the plan is on Runner's World does not mean it's a great plan for you. Ditto on recovery as well. Without even trying, my speed for shorter runs increased tremendously when I was at 25-30 MPW compared to 15 MPW.

I'm starting a running plan for a 10K from runner's world. It was designed for a 11-15mpw runner, so why would it be too soon to do this? I don't see the harm in a temp run, as I've done a few 5ks and 5mile races already. I can understand not doing speedwork or hill work yet, but I'm following what I think is a pretty reputable plan.

True. It's not too soon. But the trouble with these plans is this: To fully realize your potential then you need to increase your volume. If your doing higher intensity workouts early then it becomes difficult to increase your MPW. A trap many new runners fall into. My recommendation is to find your max MPW. How much time you can dedicate to your running. Once you find that then invest in a little more of the "Icing". Get the cake 1st. A little increased tempo every now and then is OK, Some fartleks are OK. Your priority should be increasing volume though if you want to run a faster pace over a given distance. Just my opinion and FWIW. It does sound like you may have experienced a little "over training" and thats all right. Or sometimes we just have off days. the important thing to learn is the difference between the two. If I'm having an "off"day then I'll HTFU and plow thru my work out. If it's overtraining then I'll change my schedule and back off. Here's a little quote. "If you over trained, it means that you didn't train hard enough to handle that level of training...So you weren't over trained; you were actually under trained to begin with..." (Hillary Biscay) Ironman Freak- Keep at it and Best of Luck with your 10K !

Yeah ok, you're all correct I guess. I have a really hard life schedule to begin with, so my time and distance for runs usually has to be capped off at a certain amount. This week is supposed to be the most I've run in a while. I will probably cut the "training" stuff and just stick to going however far I can in the time restraints I have. And since I don't have an exact race in mind, it couldn't hurt to use this valuble time just to log some good distance rather than speed. I probably got a little greedy because I've improved on the last couple of runs I've raced by so much, I thought I was on the up and up and could just continue to push myself. Thank you for getting my head out of the clouds.