THE TEMPO RUN (DEFINED)

The TEMPO run may be one of the best workouts to build strength and endurance, but it also may be one of the most misunderstood as well.  In a training session, the TEMPO run consists of three basic phases . . . the warmup phase (5-10 minutes of easy running) ; the tempo phase (a period of "comfortably hard" sustained running) ; and a cooldown phase (5-10 minutes of easy running.)

There are three methods to determine your TEMPO pace;  These include (1) Perceived effort, i.e sensing that while you may be working hard, you are running at a pace that you could maintain for an extended period of time. (2) Heart rate -  This can get tricky because the maximum heart rate, customarily calculated at 220 MINUS your age is not specific to everybody.  But take the example of a 64 year old runner: 220 minus 64 determines a maximum heart rate during exercise of 156 beats per minute.  The TEMPO run pace brings that heart rate up to 85-90%, or approximately 132-140 beats per minute. (3) Racing pace - Usually computed from 10K or 5K race times by adding 20 seconds to your 10K time per mile, or 30 seconds to your 5K time per mile.

For those of us who don't race, method 3 is obviously not the preferred way to determine tempo pace. Method 2 is practical over a period of time during which you would record your heart rate and running times to determine your ideal tempo pace.  Method 1 makes the most sense since it requires only awareness of your own capabilities.

For you, having race times from which you can easily determine your race pace, adding 20-30 seconds to that pace is quick and easy.  Method 3 (Racing pace) is the most readily available means to determine your tempo pace.  By using the example of a runner with a 5K time of 17:22, it is a simple computation to arrive at a per mile race pace of 5:35.  In a tempo run, this runner would pace at 6:05 per mile. NOTE:  Coolrunning.com has a great pace calculator with which the variables can easily be changed.  It can be found at the following link:

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/4/4_1/96.shtml

If the tempo run were to be planned for a competition session such as a race versus a weak opponent, the warmup phase would precede the competition, while the cooldown phase would follow it.