Hi,
I’m a bit confused about the difference between tempo and threshold running sessions.
Could someone provide an explanation for both kinds of trainning?
could you guys also provide some examples of sessions of this type?
Thanks
BR
There is no universally accepted terminology in exercise science and practice. It might mean the same thing or not, in which case “tempo” run is slower than threshold. Depends on who and how defines it.
For example Garmin marks some of my barely Zone 2 runs as Tempo, I have no idea why - my threshold HR is 170 and easy run with average HR below 140 is evaluated as “Tempo”.
More important than how to call a run in to know what is it’s purpose and therefore in which zone you should spend most of the time.
Hi,
Thanks for your answer. Let me give you a couple of additional details.
My 10K pace is 3’45"/km and my Half marathon pace is 3’55". My LT HR is around 162 ppm
Considering this, I was recommended to do a training that was: warm-up and then run 20 min at around my 10k pace… Would you say this is a Threshold session?
Could you send me some example of threshold session? my objective is to improve my capacity to be at that LT point and get my body used to this kind of effort and be adapted to manage the lactate acid 
Thanks
Your threshold pace (rather than HR) is what you can do for roughly an hour. If you run on HR, then it is your threshold HR.
Tempo is above the top of Z2, and below your threshold.
A threshold session, however, works that threshold ‘zone’, so it could be overs/unders, or sustained just below, or a long time exactly at your threshold.
Examples with a 4:00 threshold pace:
8 x 3m@3:45, 3m@4:15
20m@4:00
40m@4:15
All, arguably, threshold sessions.
As said above it’s not black and white.
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thanks a lot!! very clear answer…
just one thing… The sessions that you are proposing are for a 4:00 threshold… But, based on my race PBs shared before… in your opinion, what would be my threshold pace? is it my PB half marathon pace? or a bit faster?
and other question, what are the benefits of working-out in this Tempo zone that seems to be my zone3…?? any example of tempo sessions?
Thanks a lot
I think it’s reasonable to consider 3:50 roughly your threshold pace based on the information above. But don’t get hung up on a few seconds.
The tempo question is a big and contentious one so I won’t get in to that! Example tempo sessions could be a 1 hour tempo run where your heart rate is increasing but you’re not working really hard, you can’t really hold a conversation easily but it’s not full gas. Maybe around 4:30 pace for you.
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Based on your best record of 10k and half-marathon, I think your threshold pace may be around 3’50"-3’52". This may vary as temperature and your fitness changes, including many other factors.
Instead of specific pace, using your feeling or RPE may be a better way to determine the threshold state. For me, threshold is a comfortable fatigue, which means that I feel a little bit sore on my leg and hip, but I can easily do some accelerate. The breathing will be a little rapid, but there is enough oxygen to be used. You may run at this pace for a fair long time, like 30-60min, without too much pain.
As for the threshold session, I would recommend break long intervals into short ones at the basic stage, when it is far away from the competition. Then gradually transition to long intervals as the season progresses. You may run above and below the threshold pace to obtain different stimulate. A slower pace with a longer interval and a faster pace with a shorter pace. Here are two examples with a 3:50 threshold pace:
Warmup for about 10-15min
6x
6m @4:00 Workout with threshold feeling
2m @Recovery with slow running or quick walking
Cooldown
Warm up for about 10-15min
12x
4m @3:50
1m @Recovery with slow walking or just stand still
Cooldown
The pace of workout/recovery and the duration of workout/recovery is not set accurately, you can adjust based on your feeling freely.
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Thanks, @VolcanoDW, for those workout examples! I’ll give them a try, but honestly, I’m not sure I’m quite ready for those paces yet. The 10K and 21K PBs I shared in my previous post were from last spring, but over the summer, I focused more on cycling, so my running form isn’t quite the same.
Do you think I should stick to more Z2 and fartlek runs, gradually increasing my weekly mileage until I’ve regained my form from last spring before attempting these threshold sessions?
Here’s the weekly plan I followed last winter when I was in peak running shape:
- Day 1: 15min warmup, 20min at 3’55"–4’00" pace, cooldown
- Day 2: 1hr in Z2
- Day 3: 1hr in Z2
- Day 4: 15min warmup, 6x1Km at 3’40"–3’50" pace or faster, cooldown
- Day 5: Rest
- Day 6: 1hr Z2
- Day 7: Long run, 15–17Km at Z2, finishing in Z3
My plan for this season is to repeat the same structure with the threshold sessions and long run, but cut back on the Z2 runs and replace them with bike training.
My goal this season is to beat my 10K PB from winter/spring 2023 while maintaining my cycling fitness for duathlon races in April/May 2025.
What do you think of this approach?
Thank you all guys!
BR
If you are long time away from running, it could take some time to recovery, mainly the adaptation of the nervous system. For me, when I start a season last for several months, I would spend 3 weeks or more on easy to moderate only, including some long runs, slower than your marathon pace. This idea is from Renato Canova, which is referred as an introductive phase. The goal of this phase is to build general fitness and improve the volume capacity. So gradually increasing weekly mileage is necessary.
The plan looks good, but the only concern is that the threshold on day 1 is just followed by the long run on day 7 of last week. I would recommend easy run or rest before threshold day.
As for the z2 bike training, I would recommend perform some threshold on bike at the early stage to reduce stress on the body and use z2 run for safer adaptation, then gradually transition to an appropriate proportion of run/cycle training based on your performance and requirement of duathlon races.
Considering your major event is duathlon races in April/May, I think you should focus on more time trial training as the season progresses. For example, after the introductive period, may be two months fundamental period focused on z2 and z4 (lactate threshold). Then during the special period, maybe gradually increase the interval time to your race time, and adjust your training pace close to your target race pace. This may last for about two months. Then you can decrease the volume and prepare for the race.
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Thank you for this valuable feedback! I really appreciate it.
I’d like to ask for some additional clarification on bike training. My goal is to perform well in road sprint duathlons (5k run + 20k bike + 2.5k run), aiming for a 3’45" pace on the run and an average speed of 32 km/h on the bike (drafting allowed, mostly flat course with some short 500m climbs). What kind of bike workouts would you recommend including in my training plan during those two key months?
I’m a bit unsure about the concept of “time trial training.” Could you provide some workout examples for that? From your response, I understand that long, low-intensity bike rides (3-4 hours) may not be necessary—is that correct?
Currently, my plan includes 2-3 bike sessions per week, one of which is on the weekend when I do a brick session to practice transitions. Do you have any specific examples for brick sessions?
Thanks again for your feedback! It’s great to be part of this community of experts willing to help.
The “time trial specific training” I mentioned means steady output over your target time. For example, if you aim for 32km/h for 20k, which will take about 40 minutes, considering the short climbs, the ultimate goal of your bike training should be riding at a steady pace for 40 minutes. But I prefer power rather than pace when talking about cycling. If you got a power meter, you can calculate and estimate an finishing time. And you specific training should focus on how output higher power within the target time. Thus as your season progresses, you interval length should increase, but keep shorter than the race, and the intensity should be around your target power or effort.
I forget the duathlons consists of three consecutive parts. There’s 7.5k run and 20k bike. According to your goal, the length should be around 70 minutes, including about 30 minutes run and 40 minutes bike. The intensity should be a little bit higher than your half-marathon, according to your previous PB. I don’t know about your race strategy, full effort for both run and bike or use bike as a little recovery. No matter what you choose, you should set your target and gradually transition to your target, from intensity and time during the two key months. Following is a brief example:
Warmup
3x
15min target power or a little bit higher of your race
5min recovery at z2/z3
or 2x
20min target power or a little bit higher of your race
5min recovery at z2/z3
There’s a another example for the bike considering the climbs:
5min your target power
2min around ftp (just an example, the intensity here should be your plan for the climbs)
2min a little bit lower than your target power (try to get recovery from the climb)
3min your target power
4min recovery at z2/z3
The intensity of recovery session is up to you, but should be not too low or too high. As high as possible only if you can keep the quality of the next interval. You can freely set the length of the interval, but from my point of view, it should not be longer than the target time.
The long, low-intensity bike rides are always beneficial, but the point is do you need it. The long, low-intensity ride is good for your aerobic basis. The more, the better. But the load and the time you can sustain is limited. So when it’s far away from your race, you can do many if you wish. But if you’re close to your race, I think more specific courses maybe more helpful.
I’m not familiar with duathlon and triathlon training, so I don’t have much idea about the brick sessions. My suggestion is that the training should be similar to your race.
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Thanks a lot @VolcanoDW I’ll try these workouts. Based on your comments I’ll try to do the main intervals around my sweet spot, that is close to 200w. I already did the first workout you suggested: 3 x (10m at 200w + 5’rec) and I felt OK. Thanks for this example! I think I’ll repeat this kind of workout, at least once a week… and maybe adding some minutes to each interval as season progresses.
I also plan to do the same of steady pace workout in running. For example, today, I did 15m warmup followed by 20m at my threshold more or less (3’56") … after that I did 1k easy and I was surprised when I feel like I could add a couple of km at Z3… seems like I’m in the good way
the only missing question is related to the brick sessions… I still wonder if they are really useful or I should spend my energy on specific Run or Bike sessions.
Hopefully some duathlon expert may read this message and provide some feedback
I am no expert but this seems like a reasonable place to start both for explanations & example workouts.
Search Results for “brick” – Coach Ray – Qwik Kiwi Coaching - downloadable workouts
Also perhaps - You searched for brick | TrainingPeaks
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thanks @David_Bannister … I’ll take a look at those to get some ideas… Until now, my brick sessions have been just running 25-30min after a bike workout… I’ll figure out if I may add something a little bit more fun
Hi experts,
as I commented in previous posts, I keep doing the proposed running threshold sessions and I feel I’m improving. In fact I got my PB in a 10K race (37’18") thank you all for the recommendations!!
until now, I have more focused on running but now, I want to include some bike sessions, mainly in a smart trainer.
The point is that I prefer to do threshold interval sessions in the smart-trainer because I need to spend less time (arround 1 hour) that doing easy Z2 sessions… so my question is: do you think that doing threshold session (like 3x10min at 95%FTP) in the bike could have benefits on my run fitness to keep improving my 5K/10K PB’s ??