How to Run Faster: Tempo Runs vs Intervals | Olympian Colleen Quigley

Tempo runs or intervals: which one makes you faster? If you’ve ever looked at your plan and wondered why it has both, this episode was made for you.

This week on The Runna Podcast, Coach Anya sits down with Runna athlete and Olympian Colleen Quigley for a Coach on Call episode all about training for speed vs training for endurance.

Colleen raced the steeplechase and the 1500m, where it’s all over in minutes. Anya trains to run for hours. So who’s right about what matters more? They get into what each session actually does, how it should feel, and why it’s so easy to run your tempos too fast.

Chasing a 5k PB or deep into a marathon training block? This episode will help you get the most out of every session.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
🏃 Tempo runs vs interval training: what each one looks like on your plan
🔬 The science: aerobic vs anaerobic energy systems and lactate threshold
🐢 Why starting your tempo run slower helps you get more from it
🎯 How to train for your goal, whether that’s a 5k or a marathon
🚫 Myth busted: “If you’re training for a marathon, you don’t need any speed work”

⏱️ Timestamps:
0:00 “You have to get your body used to feeling uncomfortable”
0:28 Meet Olympian Colleen Quigley
1:40 Running myth busters: fact or fiction
2:45 Tempo runs vs intervals: what’s the difference?
5:19 Aerobic vs anaerobic: how your energy systems work
6:18 What is lactate threshold?
7:05 What a hard interval session feels like for an Olympian
8:55 Do marathon runners need speed work?
10:30 How to train for your goal: 5k vs marathon
11:15 Why intervals are fun (and the "adult playground")
12:10 The mental grind of long reps vs short ones
12:55 Why tempo gives you more bang for your buck
13:30 How to do a tempo run properly (and let go of the ego)
14:30 Why you should start your tempo run slower
15:55 Tempo vs threshold: what’s the difference?
16:45 Tempo or intervals: which is more important?

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