DVCFan1994
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2013
- Messages
- 1,469
I've been lurking here all summer. Everyone seems very supportive. I'm training for the PHM. I just started running this summer and completed a C25k program last week. This week I have started a 5k2 10k program. Tomorrow's run calls for a 3 minute tempo run. I have looked up tempo runs, and if I understand it, it's supposed to be faster than my normal run. I am already running at 95% of my max HR. Am I missing something?
Welcome to the thread! It is an amazing resource! So much to learn from people's experiences

As someone who started running just a few years ago by training for the PHM, I'll tell you it is a great first race! I did it as my first half in 2014 as part of the GSC and repeated the last 2 years, but I have to skip this year.
A tempo run is generally a run that is completed at a goal pace, whether it's a race pace, or race pace +x seconds or some other measure like your historical 5k pace. There are far more experienced people than me that will hopefully chime in, but in my opinion if you are always running at 95% max heart rate, you are running too hard, to often. Generally depending on a lot of factors, such as fitness, experience, goals etc., you want the majority of your runs to be run at an easy pace. That's often considered more like 60-70% of your max. Running too hard too often can lead to overtraining injuries.
Tempo runs are harder runs, and therefore should be run at higher heart rates/effort levels, but I still would not expect you to run at 95% of max the whole time.
And please don't take this as criticism, I only say it as someone who ran too hard too often, leading to injury. And then stupidly did the same thing again
