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** A 2002 study of cyclists makes no mention of Lactate Threshold training at all<ref name="Pringle-2002"/>.
=The Science of Tempo Runs=
The idea that training at threshold intensity is particularly effective has no evidence<ref name="Beneke-2011"/>. However, this is not the same as saying that tempo runs are not effective at all, just that they are not more effective than other forms of training. ==Evidence in Favor of Tempo Runs==
* Tempo runs can improve performance in untrained subjects<ref name="Denis-1982"/><ref name="Denis-1984"/><ref name="Londeree-1997"/>. However these studies did not compare how effective tempo runs are over other forms of training.
* A study of 9 experienced recreational masters runners showed a dramatic improvement (50%) in time to exhaustion at Lactate Threshold after interval training at Lactate Threshold pace<ref name="Billat-2004"/>. The runners had an average half marathon time of 83 minutes (+/-5), but had never performed any form of speedwork. Their average training before the study was five runs per week for an average of 65 minutes at 12.4 KPH (7:36 min/mile). The study lasted for 6 weeks, with 2 tempo paced interval sessions replacing 2 of the slower paced runs per week. One session was 3 intervals of 10 minutes each, the second 2 intervals of 15 minutes. Each week the shorter and longer intervals were lengthened by 2 and 3 minutes respectively. After training [[VO2max|V̇O<sub>2</sub>max]] increased 3.6% and Velocity at Lactate Threshold increased 4.2% (13.8 to 15.2 KPH, or 7:00 to 6:21). More impressively, the time to exhaustion at Lactate Threshold pace increased by a massive 50% from an average of 44 minutes before to 63 minutes after training. Unfortunately the study did not include any form of controls to know how much familiarity with the testing procedure influenced the results, nor was there any comparison with other forms of training such as [[High Intensity Interval Training]].
* Four weeks of tempo training increased [[VO2max|V̇O<sub>2</sub>max]] by 10% in moderately trained runners<ref name="PhilpMacdonald2008"/>. The only control was performing interval training just above or just below tempo pace, which resulted in a smaller (6%) improvement.
==Evidence Against Tempo Runs==
* In recreational 10K runners, there is not as much improvement from training at Lactate Threshold as from polarized (low/high) training<ref name="Muñoz-2014"/>.
* Training at Tempo paces is ineffective for trained athletes<ref name="Londeree-1997"/>, and may even be counterproductive<ref name="Evertsen-2001"/><ref name="Guellich-2010"/>.
* Moderately trained subjects trained for 3 days/week for 8 weeks using either Short HIIT, Long HIIT, Tempo runs, or LSD<ref name="Helgerud-2007"/>. [[VO2max|V̇O<sub>2</sub>max]] was unchanged in the tempo and LSD groups, but increased 7.2% in the Short HIIT and 5.5% in the Long HIIT groups.
* Training at lower intensity (blood lactate < 2 mmol/l) is more effective at improving performance at the Lactate Threshold than training at the Lactate Threshold (3-6 mmol/l)<ref name="Guellich-2010"/>.
* A 2007 randomly assigned 12 sub-elite 5K & cross country runners to one of two training programs<ref name="Esteve-Lanao-2007"/>. The Z1 program had 80% LSD, 10% Tempo, and 10% HIIT, whereas the Z2 program had 65% LSD, 25% Tempo, and 10% HIIT. The Z1 group that did less time at Tempo pace improved their race performance more than the Z2 group. (Their simulated 10K times improved 35 seconds more, 157 second improvement rather than 121 second improvement.)
* There is anecdotal evidence of two world class athletes that improved their performance after de-emphasizing threshold training<ref name="Seiler-2009"/>.
=Why Are Tempo Runs Ineffective?=
The science does not give us improvements in Lactate Threshold pace are largely due to a clear answer greater rate of Lactate removal rather than reduced rate of production<ref name="Phillips-1995"/><ref name="MacRae-1992"/><ref name="Donovan-1989"/><ref name="Donovan-1983"/><ref name="Bergman-1999"/>. All muscle fibers release lactate at rest, but switch to net absorption as to why Tempo runs are relatively ineffectivelactate levels rise<ref name="Donovan-2000"/>. My personal guess There is some evidence that Tempo pace is still mostly aerobicslow twitch (endurance) muscle fibers become net consumers of Lactate at lower concentrations, so it has similar benefits to running and absorb more Lactate at a any given concentration than fast twitch fibers<ref name="Donovan-2000"/>. In addition, slow pacetwitch fibers are better suited for Lactate oxidation than fast twitch<ref name="Gladden2000"/>, but it can't be kept up so longas well as having better Lactate Transport (in and out of the muscle)<ref name="Juel-1997"/>. [[High Intensity Interval Training]] probably has dramatically different benefits to Tempo or [[Long Run| Long Slow Distance]]It seems reasonable that low intensity exercise focuses more on slow twitch fibers, and is therefore more effective at improving Lactate Threshold than higher intensities. There is a common claim that Tempo runs However, I have mental benefits, but the scientific evidence does not bear located any research to support that out in real world performance improvementshypothesis.
=References=
<references>
<ref name="Juel-1997">C. Juel, Lactate-proton cotransport in skeletal muscle., Physiol Rev, volume 77, issue 2, pages 321-58, Apr 1997, PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9114817 9114817]</ref>
<ref name="Gladden2000">L. Bruce Gladden, Muscle as a consumer of lactate, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, volume 32, issue 4, 2000, pages 764–771, ISSN [http://www.worldcat.org/issn/0195-9131 0195-9131], doi [http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00005768-200004000-00008 10.1097/00005768-200004000-00008]</ref>
<ref name="Phillips-1995">SM. Phillips, HJ. Green, MA. Tarnopolsky, SM. Grant, Increased clearance of lactate after short-term training in men., J Appl Physiol (1985), volume 79, issue 6, pages 1862-9, Dec 1995, PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8847245 8847245]</ref>
<ref name="MacRae-1992">HS. MacRae, SC. Dennis, AN. Bosch, TD. Noakes, Effects of training on lactate production and removal during progressive exercise in humans., J Appl Physiol (1985), volume 72, issue 5, pages 1649-56, May 1992, PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1601768 1601768]</ref>
<ref name="Donovan-1989">CM. Donovan, MJ. Pagliassotti, Endurance training enhances lactate clearance during hyperlactatemia., Am J Physiol, volume 257, issue 5 Pt 1, pages E782-9, Nov 1989, PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2512815 2512815]</ref>
<ref name="Donovan-1983">CM. Donovan, GA. Brooks, Endurance training affects lactate clearance, not lactate production., Am J Physiol, volume 244, issue 1, pages E83-92, Jan 1983, PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6401405 6401405]</ref>
<ref name="Bergman-1999">BC. Bergman, EE. Wolfel, GE. Butterfield, GD. Lopaschuk, GA. Casazza, MA. Horning, GA. Brooks, Active muscle and whole body lactate kinetics after endurance training in men., J Appl Physiol (1985), volume 87, issue 5, pages 1684-96, Nov 1999, PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10562610 10562610]</ref>
<ref name="Seiler-2006">KS. Seiler, GØ. Kjerland, Quantifying training intensity distribution in elite endurance athletes: is there evidence for an "optimal" distribution?, Scand J Med Sci Sports, volume 16, issue 1, pages 49-56, Feb 2006, doi [http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0838.2004.00418.x 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2004.00418.x], PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16430681 16430681]</ref>
<ref name="Higdon2005">author Hal Higdon, Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide, date 3 September 2005, publisher Rodale, isbn 978-1-59486-199-4, page 151</ref>
<ref name="Jones-1998">AM. Jones, JH. Doust, The validity of the lactate minimum test for determination of the maximal lactate steady state., Med Sci Sports Exerc, volume 30, issue 8, pages 1304-13, Aug 1998, PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9710874 9710874]</ref>
<ref name="Billat-2003">V. Billat, PM. Lepretre, AM. Heugas, MH. Laurence, D. Salim, JP. Koralsztein, Training and bioenergetic characteristics in elite male and female Kenyan runners., Med Sci Sports Exerc, volume 35, issue 2, pages 297-304; discussion 305-6, Feb 2003, doi [http://dx.doi.org/10.1249/01.MSS.0000053556.59992.A9 10.1249/01.MSS.0000053556.59992.A9], PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12569219 12569219]</ref>
<ref name="Billat-2004">V. Billat, P. Sirvent, PM. Lepretre, JP. Koralsztein, Training effect on performance, substrate balance and blood lactate concentration at maximal lactate steady state in master endurance-runners., Pflugers Arch, volume 447, issue 6, pages 875-83, Mar 2004, doi [http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00424-003-1215-8 10.1007/s00424-003-1215-8], PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14740217 14740217]</ref>
<ref name="Helgerud-2007"> J. Helgerud, K. Høydal, E. Wang, T. Karlsen, P. Berg, M. Bjerkaas, T. Simonsen, C. Helgesen, N. Hjorth, Aerobic high-intensity intervals improve VO2max more than moderate training., Med Sci Sports Exerc, volume 39, issue 4, pages 665-71, Apr 2007, doi [http://dx.doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b013e3180304570 10.1249/mss.0b013e3180304570], PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17414804 17414804]</ref>
<ref name="PhilpMacdonald2008">A. Philp, A. Macdonald, H. Carter, P. Watt, J. Pringle, Maximal Lactate Steady State as a Training Stimulus, International Journal of Sports Medicine, volume 29, issue 6, 2008, pages 475–479, ISSN [http://www.worldcat.org/issn/0172-4622 0172-4622], doi [http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/s-2007-965320 10.1055/s-2007-965320]</ref>
<ref name="Donovan-2000">CM. Donovan, MJ. Pagliassotti, Quantitative assessment of pathways for lactate disposal in skeletal muscle fiber types., Med Sci Sports Exerc, volume 32, issue 4, pages 772-7, Apr 2000, PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10776896 10776896]</ref>
</references>