Try this tempo with a twist

In most cases, the goal of a tempo run is to maintain a consistent pace throughout the entire workout to train your anaerobic threshold. This tempo run, however, is a bit different. The following six-kilometre workout (minus warmup and cooldown) alternates between faster and slower paces to teach you how to run fast on tired legs, which will teach you to surge in races and improve your finishing kick.

Struggle pacing a tempo run? Split it in half

The workout

The tempo portion of this workout is broken into three 2 x 1-kilometre sections with no rest. Starting out at a faster pace, the goal is to alternate between 10K and half-marathon pace for each kilometre, using the slower intervals as active recovery from the fast ones.

Warmup: 15-20 minutes easy jog, followed by form drills and strides

Workout: 3 x (1 km at 10K pace; 1 km at half-marathon pace) for a total of six kilometres

Cooldown: 10-15 minutes easy jog, followed by light stretching

Combine your tempo run and intervals for one high-quality workout