Tempo Days

[Dennis Sanschagrin]

I’m in week 12 of my third HMM Advanced Plan. I have a question regarding tempo runs. I’m training for Chicago, which is pancake flat, but live in an area that is very hilly. It is difficult to find more than 1/4 mile stretch without hitting a hill. Should I adjust the paces of my tempos to account for hills? I do a fair amount of intervals and tempos on the treadmill, but 11-12 miles on the treadmill can be soul crushing.

[Phil Twite]

Unavoidable hills and a treadmill could be to your advantage. A large part of the mental game is being comfortable with being uncomfortable. So at mile 20 when you are holding goal pace, just tell yourself at least you’re not running up a hill or on a treadmill staring at a brick wall. Give it a positive narrative.

[Dennis Sanschagrin]

Thanks for the response. Agree that hills can be our friends 🙂

[Austin Cowan]

I live in Colorado, and it’s a similar situation here. Most of my routes, especially the longer routes, are hilly. Some more than others in terms of gradient, but never flat. I try to hold pace on the less steep hills, and allow myself to slow it down going up the steeper sections. Let myself go a little bit going downhill. Ultimately, I am trying to maintain the level of effort and average throughout the tempo run though. It’s a bit of a mental gymnastics game during the run (“I’m down 10 seconds, I made up 10 seconds”), but I think there is value in that too for race day. Having that awareness and being able to dial in and focus on where you are and what you need to do.

[Luke Humphrey]

😂 yeah for sure the treadmill can be crushing, but I do think doing a few of them on there can be beneficial for feeling the paces, getting into that pancake-flat running rhythm, learning what the pace feels like, etc.

I also understand, just getting out the door and getting your tempo in. In that case, pay real close attention to the effort. Recognize that downhills will be a little faster at the same effort and uphills slower. See what the average works out to be and adjust the next time. If you are within a few seconds +/- on the overall average, that’s not bad. I would just not want you to really force the issue to hit pace when that’s not the primary factor on the hills.

[Dennis Sanschagrin]

Thanks! Appreciate the response.