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* Hal Higdon in "Marathon The Ultimate Training Guide" says "Exercise scientists now tell us that doing tempo runs is the most efficient way to raise your lactate threshold - that is, your ability to run at a fast pace without accumulating lactic acid in the bloodstream"<ref name="Higdon2005"/>.
* Matt Fitzgerald in his book "Run Faster" says "Threshold training is a major part of every running coach's training system", and that "Threshold runs … stimulate aerobic-system adaptations and other physiological changes that enable runners to sustain faster and faster running paces for longer and longer stretches of time"<ref name="HudsonFitzgerald2008"/>.
* It's common for scientific research to propagate the myth of the tempo run, quoting other papers that don't substantiate the claims. For instance, a 2009 research study stated "One of the most valuable exercises athletes use for developing an aerobic base is maximal steady state exercise"<ref name="Snyder-2009"/>. This study then quotes three references to back up the statement:
** The 2003 study of elite Kenyan is hard to interpret in terms of Tempo runs, though less time spent at Tempo pace was correlated with better race performance<ref name="Billat-2003"/>. (See below for a more detailed analysis.)
** A 1998 study only made vague mention of tempo runs, saying "These considerations lead us to reject the use of V-OBLA in the prescription of V-MLSS exercise training"<ref name="Jones-1998"/>.
** 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"/>.
* Polarized training has been shown to be more effective than high volume/low intensity, threshold/tempo, or [[High Intensity Interval Training]]<ref name="StögglSperlich2014"/>. The polarized training used two [[High Intensity Interval Training]] and two long (150-240 minute) low intensity sessions.
* It has been observed that elite athletes exercise 80% of the time at low intensity (blood lactate < 2 mmol/l) and 20% of the time at Lactate Threshold or [[High Intensity Interval Training]]<ref name="Seiler-2010"/>. (Sadly this study did not have any breakdown between Lactate Threshold or [[High Intensity Interval Training]].)
* A study of 20 elite Kenyan runners produced rather unclear results<ref name="Billat-2003"/>. The study categorized the runners as either high-speed training (HST) or low-speed training (LST). The 7 women did no tempo runs, and the men in the HST group used tempo runs for an average of 7% (11Km) of their training volume compared with 14% (25Km) in the LST group. The male HST group showed slight but statistically significant better performance. 10K race pace of 21.2 Km/h for HST and 20.8 Km/h for LST, Lactate Threshold pace of 20.2 Km/h for HST and 19.9 Km/h for LST, but Running Economy was better in LST (214 mL/Kg/Km in HST and 203 mL/Kg/Km in LST). However, there are many other variables that differ between the LST and HST group making meaningful conclusions on Tempo runs unreasonable.
* A 1991 study of elite runners found that they spent little of their time training at lactate threshold, something that was then considered sub-optimal<ref name="Robinson-1991"/>. Note that this is in spite of the prevalent belief of coaches in the value of Lactate Threshold training.
* A study of rowers before the world championship found they spent the majority of their time in the rowing equivalent of Long Slow Distance (<2 mmol/l) with 4-10% of [[High Intensity Interval Training]] (6-12 mmol/l) and no training at Lactate Threshold<ref name="Steinacker-1998"/>.
<ref name="Esteve-Lanao-2007">J. Esteve-Lanao, C. Foster, S. Seiler, A. Lucia, Impact of training intensity distribution on performance in endurance athletes., J Strength Cond Res, volume 21, issue 3, pages 943-9, Aug 2007, doi [http://dx.doi.org/10.1519/R-19725.1 10.1519/R-19725.1], PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17685689 17685689]</ref>
<ref name="Seiler-2009">Seiler, Stephen, and Espen Tønnessen. "Intervals, thresholds, and long slow distance: the role of intensity and duration in endurance training." Sportscience 13 (2009): 32-53.</ref>
<ref name="Snyder-2009">AC. Snyder, MA. Parmenter, Using near-infrared spectroscopy to determine maximal steady state exercise intensity., J Strength Cond Res, volume 23, issue 6, pages 1833-40, Sep 2009, doi [http://dx.doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181ad3362 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181ad3362], PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19675475 19675475]</ref>
<ref name="Pringle-2002">JS. Pringle, AM. Jones, Maximal lactate steady state, critical power and EMG during cycling., Eur J Appl Physiol, volume 88, issue 3, pages 214-26, Dec 2002, doi [http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00421-002-0703-4 10.1007/s00421-002-0703-4], PMID [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12458364 12458364]</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>
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