This 90-Minute Playlist Will Help You Nail the Pace on Your Next Tempo Run

Whether you’re running outside or hitting the treadmill, good music can often make the difference between a great run and a blown goal. That’s why we’re putting together playlists each month chock-full of songs with enough of a beat to keep you moving. For even more tunes, check out our best running playlists to power every pace and distance.If you want to become a better runner, you have to not only run often but also vary the types of runs you do. A casual four-miler after work and a meandering long run on the weekend will not make you significantly faster—it’s variety that is the spice of life and also the key to reaching a PR.To that end, Runner’s World has put together a handy-dandy guide detailing the eight types of runs you should work into your rotation. While the list includes long runs and recovery days, it also taps into some more formidable options, such as hill repeats, progression runs, and the (much feared, but incredibly useful) tempo runs.A tempo run is designed to push you out of your comfort zone. Every person has an anaerobic threshold, the highest intensity you can maintain before lactic acid and metabolic waste products start building up in your blood faster than your body can clear them, or, in simpler terms, a point when it becomes difficult to talk while you’re running. It’s a careful balance; if you’re chatting up a storm, you haven’t reached your anaerobic threshold, but if you’re sucking wind, you’ve gone too far. A tempo run is designed to keep you in that narrow window of discomfort for 20 minutes or more.While tempo runs take a lot of energy and may not allow you to shut your brain off the same way other types of runs do, they are also what will ultimately make you faster by getting your body comfortable with difficult conditions. As you do more tempo runs, your anaerobic threshold will raise, allowing you to push even harder.So how fast do you need to go in a tempo run? That varies from person to person and depending on the conditions. If it’s hot and humid, you’re going to reach that sweet spot of difficulty a lot sooner than you will on a cold day. One of the best ways to figure out where that spot is for you is using a rate of perceived exertion, a 1-10 subjective scale to assess how a run feels. A tempo run should feel like a 7 out of 10 effort.The hardest thing about a tempo run is staying in that window, and so we’ve designed an upbeat playlist to help you lock in even when the going gets tough. This playlist, focused on songs at 160 to 170 beats per minute, should keep your legs churning along the beat and distract you from the discomfort.Listen on SpotifyListen on Amazon MusicListen on Apple MusicMatthew Huff is a freelance writer and runner, and he is the author of MARATHONER: What to Expect When Training for and Running a Marathon, published by Rizzoli Publications. His writing has appeared in Runner's World and BuzzFeed among others, and he is the co-host of “P.S. You're Wrong: A Pop Culture Podcast.” Originally from Michigan, he now lives and runs in New York City, where he is pursuing a career as an expert chicken tender taster.