Phil Mosley's Tempo Run B

Tempo is an intensity that means different things to different athletes and coaches. For me, I define Tempo as an effort comfortably below the Threshold pace. It is the sort of intensity that if you had to you could maintain for a duration longer than a half marathon. It is higher than the aerobic running pace, sort of in the mid-zone between the two levels. Spending more than 15-20 minutes at this intensity, helps the body practice clearing the small amount of lactic acid generated at this pace, without needing to slow down to do so. This is a perfect session for runners and triathletes running events up to full marathons and further.

Fartlek is a Swedish term that is often used by runners and it means speed-play. See a previous post about training intensity (levels) to know how hard to work.

The inspiration for this workout comes from an article by Phil Mosley the April 2011 issue of Triathlon Plus.

Phil Mosley's Tempo Run B

• 7min WU Level II;
• 3min Level III;
• 20min Level III+;
• 10min CD Level II;
• 10min Stretching

Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) for seven minutes of easy jogging at Level II.

The Main Set involves starting to run at Level III for the next three minutes. Then spend the next twenty minutes running at the top end of Level III.

The Cool Down (CD) is at a low intensity, jogging (Level II) for at least ten minutes.

Finish with 10 minutes of stretching to assist with the recovery.

If you would like further advice feel free to contact me.

I am the Head Coach & Director of Qwik Kiwi – Endurance Sports Consultant.

I specialise in assisting first-timers and recreational athletes to achieve their sporting goals. I can be contacted at coachray@coachray.nz and 021 348 729.

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