Today is supposed to be my tempo day but unfortunately its raining and lightning outside and there is no indoor track in my area. Could my tempo for the day just be running/jogging in place in my apartment for around 30 seconds on and then 30 seconds off? I would also do some ab work following the tempo.
Also…besides running at 70-75% for 100-400 meters at a time, what other types of tempo training do you guys utilize? After doing this type of tempo for a while i kind of get bored with it. Could i sometimes just substitube my “normal” tempo (100x20 with 30-50 seconds rest between each run) with just simply running 2 miles? How about swimming? I have searched on tempo many times and have read about using other forms of tempo, but are they as effective as the normal form of tempo? Thanks for the help guys.
If you have access to a treadmill you could use that. It’s my favorite alternative to normal tempo runs. If it only goes to 12mph, set the speed at 12, incline to about 3% and run for like 20sec then take 30-60sec rest. To rest, just hop off and stand on the area outside the tread. Just let the treadmill run at a constant speed the whole time.
I will do something like
10x20sec runs w/ 40sec rest at 12mph and 3% incline. my pb is 11.11 so adjust accordingly
Pool work is also a good alternative. Aqua jogger (running in place) may be ideal but you could do other stuff.
You could also skip the tempo today and just do a bunch of ab work & general strength exercises (bodyweight variants).
thanks for the help guys…so i guess that running in place in my apartment would be a decent form of tempo? Just wondering about this b/c i have had to do this several times in the past due to inclement weather and i want to know whether or not i got anything out of it and if it was worth doing.
Also, grab a pair of shoes with some decent grip(like trail running ones) so that you don’t fall on your ass when you do 200m turn arounds on wet grass.
We have quite a few of those fitness trails around here. Usually the stations are around 100-200m apart, so run these at tempo pace, then catch your breath, do the station, get a bit more air… then off you go again. The scenery is usually more interesting and also the terrain provides a break from the boredom of tempo work.
Also Starzynski, Sozanski, and Kurz mention ‘terrain running’ and Fartlek (speed play) which are basically 2 alternative ways of doing tempo work. Terrain running mixes up walking, jogging, skipping, running, manouvering around/over obstacles etc. and over time the workouts are supposed to progress toward running 3-6 x 200m at moderate pace. Fartlek uses 3 phases in a workout. First use terrain running to warm up; Second do 4-6 x 60-80m running, 6-8 x 20-40m skipping and 6-8 x 10 jumps of various kinds; and lastly running 4-6 x 300-150m (shorter distances employ higher speeds and are introduced as the athletes progress). These are basic descriptions, and there is more detail (esp. concerning Fartlek for team sessions) than I’ve given, so search the web if you need to know more.
Bruce Lee also is supposed to have run in more of a ‘terrain running’ style - he’d mix it up and not just simply jog but use different paces, backwards running, accellerations etc.
To paraphrase CF, tempo work is done to maintain aerobic fitness, running rythm, calf strength, to keep lean, and to vary training stimulus (i.e. a contrast from the high CNS demands of speed and resistance training). So any alternative should meet these goals.
