Tempo runs have earned their place in training programs for runners of all levels. This technique involves running at a pace that pushes your boundaries but remains sustainable over an extended period of time. The key objective of tempo running is to prepare your body to perform at higher intensities without succumbing to fatigue.
Usually, a tempo run is made at a pace slightly lower than your target race pace.
A typical description of a tempo run is running comfortably hard (Global Triathlon Network even mentions it in one of their videos), which is an expression that fits perfectly into this type of training.
Benefits of tempo runs
Are you including tempo runs in your training plan? If you are not, consider doing it, especially some weeks before a race, you will thank me later!
So what are the most significant advantages?
- Mental preparation: Sustaining a high pace during an extended period of time can be mentally challenging. Fatigue builds up, and all sorts of pains start to appear. This type of workout will force you to be resilient and strong enough to fight against all those signals.
- Race preparation: Tempo runs can also be simulations of a race day. Since you are running at a higher pace during an extended period of time, this workout can be seen as a test to evaluate that you are at least capable of running at the tempo run pace. When race day comes you will have enough confidence and power to push even further than that.
- Perceived effort: You know when you are running and have those feelings like “Oh, I feel that I can run forever at this pace”, or “Whoa, I can continue running at this intensity, but it is hard!”, or even “I think I will not be able to finish this 1k segment at this pace”? That is your perceived effort. It helps you understand how intense or relaxed your run is and is super important to master when race day comes. This is the feeling that will give you the confidence to push yourself to have the best result possible. Tempo runs help stimulate this by giving you an experience of how intense a fast and long run feels.
- Lactate threshold: This one is not a consensus among the running world, but I feel it should be mentioned here. Since a tempo run is made close to the lactate threshold, some coaches advocate that it helps move the lactate threshold up. And that is great because it will help you perform at higher intensities while still being in the aerobic zone. On the other hand, other coaches say that to improve the lactate threshold you need to spend a big part of your training at zone 2 of your heart rate.
How often should tempo runs be done?
This is an intense workout. For new or medium experienced runners it can be done once a week to avoid injuries and not enter into overtraining.
For experienced runners, this can be included twice a week or twice a training cycle (if your workout cycle has 10 days for instance).
Tempo runs are also great the weeks before a race, to help you enter into race mode and stimulate the body to perform at higher intensities for extended periods of time. Pre-season is also a great time to include them, but they are not as important in the off-season.
How to perform tempo runs?
The typical layout of a tempo run is to start slow for 10 to 20 minutes, and then gradually increase and maintain a pace slightly slower than your target race pace for 20 to 60 minutes depending on your current fitness condition and target race distances. For instance, if you are training for a 5k, then you can stay in the 20-30 minute range. If you are training for 10k or more, then try to maintain a high pace for 40 to 60 minutes.
At the end, finish off with 10 to 20 minutes of a slow pace to cool down.
There are 2 ways to look at tempo runs:
- Perceived effort based
- Pace based
Perceived effort
This is the method that is easier to follow by the majority of beginner/intermediate runners.
Following the layout described above, at the part where you need to increase the pace, feel your perceived effort and try to understand if you can push a bit harder without losing your breath control. Every 500 meters or every 2 minutes ask yourself this question “Can I run faster for the remaining duration of the training?”. If the answer is yes, then speed up a notch. If not, maintain the current pace.
After the run analyse how you felt during the training.
How was your breathing?
Did your muscles, knees, or ankles hurt?
Did your heart rate increase or was it low?
According to the answers, it will be possible to understand if the next tempo run can be much harder or only slightly harder than the last one.
Pace based
This method is usually used by more experienced athletes who know with higher precision their race paces on different distances like 5k or 10k runs.
Having those numbers in mind, the strategy is the same,
- Define your target pace, which should be slightly slower than your race pace.
- Start by running slower than your target pace for 10 to 20 minutes.
- Then increase the pace until you reach the target pace, and maintain it for 20 to 60 minutes, depending on the distance you are training for.
- Cool down for 10 to 20 minutes at a slower pace.
The target pace depends on the distance that you are training for, but the usual standard is to set the target tempo run pace to 20 to 30 seconds per kilometer slower than the race pace.
Key takeaways
Tempo runs are a powerful tool that will help build mental and physical endurance. They are a great workout to do once a week, especially when you are close to race day, trying to increase the pace and build up strength for the race.
After some weeks of using this method in my training, the first thing I noticed was that I was having much less fatigue when running at higher paces for higher distances with a higher heart rate. My breathing also improved, since I was forced to control it at a higher pace for an extended period of time.
I like to include tempo runs in the 2 weeks before a major race. For some reason, it helps me enter into competition mode and anticipate the challenges that the race will bring.
What about you? Are you including tempo runs in your running plans?
What do you think about this training method?
