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Tempo Run or Snot Run?

So ask 100 runners to define Tempo Run and you’ll get 95.75 different responses.  Why is that?  Part of the reason is that Tempo Run has become the cool catchall term.  Everybody is doing Tempo Runs when they are not sure what they are doing.  Think about the term, Tempo Run, not very descriptive is it?  You could just as easy say Pace Run or Rhythm Run.  Some call it an anaerobic threshold or lactate threshold run (thanks to the Father of this training technique, Jack Daniels).  These names are certainly more descriptive and provide some level of guidance.  Evidently, Dr. Daniels thought these runs should be at or near a runner’s anaerobic threshold.  A very unscientific description of anaerobic threshold, the pace where the body cannot adequately clear the lactic acid generated through exercise.  As the acid accumulates in your muscles, things get very ugly in a hurry.

That’s all the fancy science stuff.  I have my own thoughts on Tempo Run.  First of all the goal is to force the body to handle greater speeds for longer distances.  The longer distances are kind of key.  We are not talking about 5K racing.  We are talking about 15K to Marathon distance.  Why?  Because in a 5K, you run at a pace that generates lactic acid and at a rate that the body cannot possibly clear.  You will finish a 5K before the lactic acid totally locks up your legs (theoretically).  With a 15K, you have to run at a pace that allows the body to manage lactic acid levels and keep them below critical levels.  So with my version of a Tempo Run, you want to run just below the threshold for the duration.  Your body will get better at clearing acid through this training which will allow you to run faster over this distance.  It’s a good bet that if your Tempo Run lasts more than 60 minutes, you are probably not running fast enough.  At some point the body can no longer keep up with the acid production.  As the acid accumulates, the effort becomes tougher.  A 60 minute Tempo Run is a solid piece of work (not including warm-up and cool-down).  Obviously, my Tempo Run is not done at Marathon pace or even Half-Marathon pace, it is faster.

So here are a couple of mental images that may help you understand the Snot Run; my new moniker for Tempo Run.  If the name catches, I can see the t-shirts, “I’m okay, it’s a Snot Run”.  Or, “you only get this fast with Snot Runs”, or “Watch out – It’s a Snot Run”.  Enough about slogans, in the 60’s there was a television show called Mission: Impossible.  Yes, there was actually television in the 60’s, no there wasn’t cable and no, Tom Cruise was not involved.  Anyways, at the beginning of each episode they showed a fuse being lit and the fuse would be shown burning between scenes until it reached the explosive.  I like to think of a Snot Run as a fuse.  The goal is to burn that fuse as quickly as possible but never reach the explosive at the end.  So you are running hard enough to be burning the fuse but not so fast that the explosion is imminent.  Hopefully, you reach the end of your Snot Run and put the fuse out just before explosion.  You want to finish a Snot Run with the knowledge that you were working hard but you are not gassed.  You don’t fall over in the parking lot or on your front lawn.  You take a short recovery walk and you are tired but you are not bombed.  That fuse has to burn hot, but not explode.

The Snot Run is at a pace/effort that makes you hold back just a bit but at the same time you want to go faster.  You want to reach the conclusion as quickly as possible but at the same time you don’t want it to end.  The Snot Run requires effort.  You have to push yourself a bit but the secret is finding the rhythm that allows you to hold on.  This is not a sprint to the finish; avoid the natural inclination to speed to the finish.  Understand that the prize is the effort and time at the effort level not a quick finish.  You want it to last as long as possible.  If you really find the right pace, you should feel strong and energized. It is a rhythm thing.  Find that magic rhythm and the good times will roll.  This pace is hard, so after several miles at this pace, you will start to fade.  Work on maintaining the rhythm and finishing the run.  You want to finish with a feeling of success and accomplishment and a desire to do it all over again.

Think about the Snot Run in another context.  Think about it this way, things that burn super hot cannot last, eventually they burn out.  Things that barely smolder are not very interesting.  The controlled burn, the flame that burns at a rate that can be maintained and controlled are the best.  This middle-ground contains the pay-off.  Sure the incredible, scorching hot experience is great but it cannot be maintained long enough.  We want a snot run (or other things in our lives) to burn hot and last. 

Get outside, warm-up and start the snot run.  Find the magic rhythm and embrace it.  Hold onto it with both hands and rock it out.  Feel the strength and power that comes from running just below threshold. 

Nothing feels quite like a Snot Run.

  1. runrichmond posted this