Forums >Running 101>How do you approach a low-mileage tempo run?
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'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.
Prince of Fatness
My tempo is probably about 10-10:30mm.
Not at it at all.
2013
3000 miles
Sub 19:00 for 5K 05-03-13 Clee Prom 5K - 19:00:66 that was bloody close!
Sub-40:00 for 10K 17-03-13 Gainsborough 10K - 39:43
Sub 88:00 for HM
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.
"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-