I see. I think we are on the same page then, i.e., you need some (individual) pace for the adaptations to occur and I wouldn’t use such volumes for loosening up. 
You must specify ‘conditioning’ and ‘work capacity’ relative to the breakdown I provided a few posts ago.
For example, for an athlete whose anaerobic threshold is 170bpm, exercising between 120-140bpm is quite comfortable; however, this intensity range is effective for developing cardiac output.
Alternatively, for that same athlete, in order to promote aerobic development he/she would have to train around 160-173bpm which is obviously more challenging.
People can generate over 120bpm walking on a treadmill at 4.0-4.5mph easily for 20-30 minutes, even good athletes. Why even bother doing running tempo then?
I should note, the last time I had heart rate monitors on my guys, that most of my skill guys were in the 150-160bpm range immediately following each run (after warm up and so on).
A few months ago we had over half the team tested for AT and VO2max and, on average, we saw that the anaerobic threshold for most of them was in the mid 150/low 160range.
Thus, regarding the 16sec pace, my guys are exercising in the range associated with aerobic development.
For the faster guys with stronger aerobic systems, its aerobic maintenance. In either case, the training effect is positive.
Well my fitness is well down as I have had all SPP off, but I’ll get some lactic typically around 1200m… on grass, but this often depends on how fresh I feel that day.
I’m a jumper running 10.7 atm…
You must have a very uneconomic thrust… think you’d better consult your GF on this one rather than the board 
In order to develop aerobic qualities in the active musculature.
The hemodynamics, cardiac output, and so on, changes with increased intensity. Thus the increased capillarisation, heightened aerobic capacity, etc relies upon greater training intensities (closer to the AT) than the more recuperative treadmill walking.
If these are in situ, do we have the same observations in vivo, too?
Are we talking about tetanic contractions then during exercise? And at what point are we surpassing the aerobic processes?
Anyway, I think we’ve beat the subject to death. 
In conclusion, I am more of the ‘Brooks - Noakes’ school of thought regarding this issue. The guys have convinced me, what can I say! :o
Charlie mentions that tempo is also beneficial for ankle strength and elasticity… also that millage of grass work may prove to be beneficial as discussed in the Jamaican training thread.
Understood, we pull from the sources that make the most sense to us and our programming.
Exactly! I’ve enjoyed that though! Not sure about the rest of the members…
Right.
Fogelson, I should also note that having been wrapped up in explaining the methodological theory behind this subject matter as well as the tempo parameters in my skill guys training, that I’ve forgotten to include one very important point…the 16sec limit is what I require my guys to make; when in fact, most of them cross the line between 12 and 14 by their own volition
Thank you for the clarification–that makes much more sense.
On the subject of keeping tempo lactate free… what about the medball/circuits/abs that follow? It seems harder to keep the musculature lactate free during these activities… the 1000’s of abs reps CF prescribes, for example. And James, what about the lifts you have prescribed on tempo days?
Hold on. Am I correct in reading that you are getting noticeable lactic production after about 1200m of tempo, namely 100m repeats in 19 seconds? If that is the case, how long are your rests, and if not, can you give me the specifics?
In trying to get myself into some sort of less horrendously poor fitness level, I have been running tempo: 3x10x100m in 17seconds, with 40seconds between reps, and 8minutes total between sets in which I do some push-ups, pull-ups (on the handy soccer goals), and ab work, with about 3min rest at the end of it before the next set of 100m runs. I could probably manage 100m in a blistering 12.8 or so (don’t laugh).
I get very tired and my heart rate gets to about 185 (max is about 225) towards the end of each set, but I don’t feel signs of lactic acid production. Could that just me not noticing it?
I wouldn’t be telling an athlete to go above 75% of best time but I might ask them to step it up if they’re going like molasses rolling uphill.
Let’s stick with personal experience here. Just worry about the pace and stay with what works and you’ll be fine.
The scientists can tell us all why things worked for us 20 years from now and we can wax nostalgic if or when we read it.
Which goes back to the issue regarding the Peaking video!
In my female soccer players, we start out doing 110yds in 18 seconds for faster players (about 20 seconds for slower players. After about 3 weeks, these become very easy to do, and we move up 1 second for these reps. Because they will hit 4000m+ of tempo 3x a week (12,000m total), the 17 second zone is fine. For males, I usually ask them to run it in 15-16 seconds. Early off-season I may ask them to run them in 17 and decrease time as they get more fit.
Re: tempo and lactic acid…the point of tmepo is to aid in recovery, not to work on lactic type conditioning. This goes back to the Vancouver download of team sports.
How many sports really need lactic type workouts?
It’s all a factor of managing work intensity and duration as well as duration of recoveries.
Additionally, it’s important to specify the context of the intended training effect.
The tempo runs, at least in my program, are performed in order to develop all that Charlie has spoke of over the years as well as to simply heighten the musculo-tendonous-skeletal durability specific to terrestrial movement (aka field based sport movements)
From a bionergetic standpoint, for us, the tempo activities (because it’s not just linear running for my guys) must be aerobic.
The other auxiliary exercises, however, are not restricted to alactic/aerobic parameters. Although all the abdominal reps we perform are typically accomplished in an alactic/aerobic environment simply because we generally don’t perform in excess of 20 repetitions per set at a moderate rate and this is followed by a 45-60sec rest and then another run or positional movement.
I said SOMETIMES and UPTO 19s, so in the later reps, when I’m slowing (another no-no!), that’s when I feel lactic in the last 10m. And I use a TIMED 30s rest and a 60s rest with 15 press-ups between sets. It has a lot to do with the way I feel that day… if the day before was a real high intensity then the tempo usually suffers beleive it or not.
But I havn’t been able to build the tempo this year…
2000m is tough. Just try it.