How To Do Tempo Runs

Tempo runs (also called threshold runs) are a form of speedwork where you run just below race pace for a portion of your regular workout. For most, this pace is usually 20 to 30 seconds slower than your standard 5K pace and 10 to 20 seconds slower than your standard 10K pace.

Tempo runs should feel comfortably hard. The goal of the run is to stay just below your anaerobic threshold instead of exhausting yourself. This threshold is the pace at which your body is able to clear lactate as quickly as it is being created.

The advantages of practicing tempo runs include increased aerobic capacity, speed, and lactate threshold. This type of training is designed to speed the efficiency at which your body clears the blood system of lactate and to push back the fatigue caused by lactic acid buildup. Tempo runs can also increase running efficiency, improve form, and build muscle. They are beneficial in boosting endurance and overall speed.

Instead of being overly structured, tempo runs can be varied to each individual runner's needs and goals. The only requirement for a tempo run is to maintain your threshold pace for the amount of time you set for yourself.

Those training for longer distances may want to utilize longer, slightly slower tempo runs, and those training for shorter distances may run shorter, faster tempo runs. In general, tempo runs should be comfortably hard; you should feel like you're pushing the pace, but not so hard that you couldn't hold the effort for about an hour if you had to. It is essential to include warmup and cooldown sessions on either side of the tempo run.

Tempo runs should be done no more than twice a week, and it is important not to push too fast. This is not the time to speed up, even if you feel good. Speeding up your tempo runs beyond the recommended pace can diminish the benefits and increase the risk of injury. Only increase your tempo pace when your race pace has also become faster.

*If you are new to running tempos, start with shorter distances and gradually build up the milage of the tempo portion each week.

One of the most common training mistakes among both beginner and veteran runners is to run too hard on recovery days, and not hard enough on workout days. Because it can feel productive to push the pace (but not go so hard as to redline), some runners are tempted to run tempo far more often than they should, and this overdoing it seriously impedes their recovery. Approach tempo runs with intention, and remember that they are a specific workout reserved only for harder days.