Work out - Fast session - Tempo run

Tempo runs should be runs at a hard pace, but a pace you know you can comfortably do. So if your 5k race pace is around 3:45/km then drop 20s off this pace to say 4:05/km so that you are within your comfort zone - but still having to put an effort in. If your race pace is around 5:00/km, then maybe drop aim for 5:25/km for a tempo run.

The coach at the club I go to used to call these 'comfortably hard' runs. If you can have a conversation then you are not trying hard enough.

Tempo run
As the effort is a little easier on a tempo run, I tend to make the run a little longer than just a 5k when doing this as a training effort. 10k is a nice distance to do - an out-and-back route on a decent surface. If there is a little bit of undulation then it keeps it interesting as you have to put a touch more effort on the up-hills to keep the pace there and then get a slight easing off on the downhills.

In the weeks leading up to a half marathon race I like to doing a weekly tempo 16k - this is pretty tough to do regularly though, but a nice one to do when you have a target like a big race in sight.

If you want to read a bit more about why the tempo run is a good training run - google some running articles on the web such as:
- https://www.runnersworld.com/advanced/a20827239/what-is-a-tempo-run/

This blog post is part of a set of posts looking at how to run faster:
- https://northeastrunning.blogspot.com/2020/07/how-to-run-faster.html

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