Long-distance triathlon glossary·Tempo

Tempo : Tempo pace or sweet spot

Load

Moderately hard intensity (84-97% FTP), between aerobic base and threshold : sometimes called 'sweet spot'.

Tempo training sits between aerobic base (Z2) and threshold (Z4) : an intensity that hurts but is sustainable for 40-90 minutes. In cycling, 'sweet spot' often refers to the 88-95% FTP range: excellent aerobic benefit-to-effort ratio. In running, tempo pace is often described as 'comfortably hard' : you can speak, but only in short sentences. It is the ideal zone for building aerobic endurance without repeated threshold exposure.

In TriPaced:

In TriPaced, tempo sessions appear as 'threshold pace endurance' or 'Zone 3 work'. The planner uses them in BASE and early BUILD phases to build aerobic capacity before introducing true threshold (Zone 4) work.

Related terms

  • TSS : Training Stress Score
  • CTL : Chronic Training Load (fitness)
  • ATL : Acute Training Load (fatigue)
  • TSB : Training Stress Balance (freshness)
  • Sweet spot : the efficiency zone
  • Threshold : the upper sustainable limit