Running Training – Tempo Run
Tempo runs are an important part of any competitive runner’s training schedule.
Here are some frequently asked questions about how to integrate them into your own workouts.
What is a tempo run?
A tempo run, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (see tempo and pace), is “a rate of performance at a steady pace.”
These runs are running training workouts where you run at a steady pace that is around 70% to 80% of your max aerobic capacity. Tempo runs are just past the point where you begin to build up waste product in your legs at a rapid rate during a run, which is called the lactate-threshold velocity.
How do tempo runs help you?
Tempo runs are thought to have an influence on lactate threshold running speed. By training this way, your body gets used to moving at a constant rate for a period of time which can help you during a race. They are also one of the best ways to train your mind to accept the fact that you are going to run at a steady effort over a specified distance during a race.
How do you integrate tempo runs into your training plan?
The performance benefit of running tempo runs far outstrips running at an easy pace all the time, but does not have quite as much bang for the buck as interval training. The closer to race pace that you can run without over training, the more pronounced the benefits of any specific workout. Mixing up your training is important to prevent injury, and these runs are a great way to get some fast leg work in without doing an interval workout or running a race.
As with any speed work, always be sure to add an adequate warm up and cool down before and after your workout. You will not be running as fast as you would during an interval workout or a race, but you will be running at a pace quick enough to warrant the extra care. Warming up will help prevent you from hurting yourself, and cooling down will help stretch out your legs after the run and help prevent soreness the next day.
What is the optimum distance for a tempo run?
Optimum distances tend to be middle to long distance days once you have figured in time for a warm up. You will probably want to allot at least a half hour at tempo pace to make the run worthwhile, and may even want to consider extending that depending upon your goal race distances.
I find that mixing a tempo runs with my distance runs has worked out fairly well for me. Rather than running long slow distance, I run at or near my marathon race pace on my long runs to better simulate race conditions and to force my body to make the adaptations that are necessary for me to be successful. I save my easy runs for the shorter runs in between intervals, races and my long runs.
Blaine Moore is a running coach in Southern Maine with 20 years of training and racing experience. Download his free report, The 3 Components of an Effective Workout, to learn why the work you put in during your training is only the third most important factor that determines how well you improve as a runner and an athlete.