For those who have never tried out a tempo run, or may not know what it entails, here are the details:

Tempo runs are considered a secondary, but very important, workout to run in addition to hard track intervals within a training cycle. The objective of a tempo run is a longer, sustained effort, at a moderate pace. Hill and fartlek workouts are also incorporated into the Thursday workouts every few weeks. Tempo and hill workouts are very different from the shorter, faster intervals of the Tuesday track workouts.

Schedule:

6:15-6:30pm: Group gathers at workout location

6:30pm: Workout starts

A few of our tempo/secondary run locations are:

• Bluemont Park Tennis Courts in Arlington (601 N Manchester St Arlington, VA 22203)
• Masonic Temple in Alexandria (110 Callahan Drive, Alexandria, VA, 22301)
• Long Bridge Park in Arlington (1200 Crystal Drive. Arlington, VA 22202)

Once the group is all together, we start out on a two to three-mile easy warmup together. We then stop to re-group before starting the workout. The tempo (or hills) is at your own pace, which for a tempo is usually around your half-marathon pace. This will be hard, but not as hard as Tuesday track interval pace, and you should be able to sustain it for the duration of the workout.

Once we all finish the workout, we stop for another few minutes to catch our breath, then run a final easy two or three mile cooldown together as a group. This is a great way to get in a fantastic workout and longer mileage day, which will reap huge rewards in your race times!

If you want to join a tempo run/secondary workout, email our Membership Coordinator to let us know (membership@novarunningclub.com).