Tempo run - explain please

[butterflyexperience]

Could someone explain tempo run to me please?

How to do it
Why to do it
How it works

Thanks

Referring to Paula's running bible....

How - a classic example of a distance runners tempo run might be, warm up pace for 10 mins, gradual increase to a comfortably hard pace for 20 to 40 mins, slower pace for 10 to 15 mins. A challenging pace is when you can answer a question but not hold a conversation.

Why- the idea is to get your body used to operating at a race pace heart rate and effort, or a little higher, for sustained periods of time.

How it works - well like any training I suppose (this is me now, not Paula!) you are getting your body to adapt to stress and improve it's ability to respond to it and improve race times. There's probably some technical effect on your VO2 max, ie increasing the amount of oxygen your body can transport to your muscles and therefore improve performance.

HTH

Thanks for explaining

Shall try now to put into my next run