How to Run Faster — 6 Tips from a Competitive Runner — The Runner’s Route
Common-Sense Advice When You Feel the Need for Speed
- Written by Dennis Moore
It’s okay that none of us will ever outrun Mary Keitany or Eliud Kipchoge. Certainly, at 73 years old, I never will. But doing well in races gives me a feeling of accomplishment, even if it’s only by achieving a higher position in my age group. And it’s the main reason I do speed training. If you are looking to run faster, I can share these tips on what worked for me as a competitive runner.
Why speed train
There are many benefits to speed training, according to Elizabeth Corkum, a Road Runners Club of America certified running coach. “We get stronger, faster, fitter, and leaner,” says Corkum, “when we introduce speed training workouts.”
Deena Kastor, Olympic bronze medalist in the marathon and author of “Let Your Mind Run,” goes further, telling Well+Good, “Speed work is important, no matter what distance you’re pursuing. Running fast keeps your stride efficient at all paces, which prevents injury and makes running at slower paces feel like less effort.”
So, even if you’re not racing, these speed training tips can improve your fitness. (For more on improving fitness with running, read this post). And you don’t have to torture yourself to reap the benefits.
Think pulsing. Almost all forms of speed training involve pulsed cycles of effort and recovery. Deena Kastor calls this “ebb and flow.” Amby Burfoot, the winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon and current editor-in-chief of Runner’s World, explains in an article for Podium Runner, that the pulsed approach, “stimulates endurance and muscle growth, and then allows time to adapt to the growth.”
The good news is that you’re allowed to pick the ebb and flow that feel best for you. But before you begin speed training, be sure to build endurance first with easier runs. Just enjoy. And once you feel comfortable with a mile or more, ease yourself slowly into adding faster sessions.
Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon (1967) advises, “Don’t be discouraged if your progress seems slow. We all want immediate results, but we need to be patient. It is far more important to build a strong, healthy base — even if it takes longer — than it is to progress too quickly and risk being discouraged or injured.”
To Kathrine’s last point, I would mention that a yoga teacher I had a few years back would occasionally warn his students that, “If you’re beating yourself up or forcing your body into pain, you might ask yourself why.” With that admonition, allow this competitive runner to propose some common-sense tips for speed training:
Tip 1: Warm up first
Make sure your body is ready for the extra effort of faster movement. I warm up for a mile before every race, and for at least a half-mile before speed training. For me, the warmup is a slow, easy run at a pace I feel I could maintain almost forever. Breathing is easy. Even conversation is easy. Before a race, I sometimes add in a few short sprints, just to alert my body of what is about to be requested.
Tip 2: Intervals
There are as many approaches to running intervals as there are runners. Some call them repeats. Simply put, they are a series of selected distances (or times) run at speed. An approach that incorporates intervals into a longer, slower run is called Fartlek, which means “speed play” in Swedish.
I regularly run interval sessions of either a half-mile or full mile. Right now, training for a marathon in six weeks, I’m running six one-mile intervals with a three-minute, slow, recovery run between each one. As for Fartlek, I tend to use a non-structured version, which my running buddies and I call stride-outs or pick-ups. Within a 6-mile run, for example, I might add a 30-second, 45-second, or full-minute interval of speed to each mile.
In all cases, the objective is to give your body some rest and recovery between pulses of speed. How far, how fast, and how many intervals you do depend on your level of fitness, your running goals, and other factors such as weather and injury recovery. If you’re not sure, err on the side of caution. And take notice of how you feel the next day. If you’re feeling beat up or over-tired, you’ve probably done too much. Give yourself a rest and be a little less ambitious next time.
Tip 3: Progressives
I incorporate the progressive type of speed training into almost every run. It’s the process of accelerating towards the end. For me, especially on long runs, I try to add speed through the last three miles. My friend and coach, Roger Robinson, calls it “coaxing speed from tired legs.” Roger is a two-time world-record holder in the master’s division of the marathon and author of the stellar book When Running Made History.
I believe the progressive approach in training helps me find a “kick” at the end of races. But I would caution that it doesn’t have to be -and shouldn’t be — an all-out sprint in training. Even a slight increase at the end will be beneficial, and for me — ironically — I find it helps me forget how tired I might be feeling.
Tip 4: Tempo Runs
Aside from a slow warmup and possible cool-down before and after, tempo runs don’t involve pulsing. They’re about running at a sustained pace that is “comfortably hard,” according to Jason Fitzgerald on the Strength Running website, “A pace that’s faster than ‘moderate’ but not exactly ‘hard.’
Tempo runs are a mainstay of many formal training programs. The pace and distance you select will depend on where you are in your training. Let me suggest that you start out at a slow run and increase your speed to the point where you could no longer hold a conversation but are not yet feeling a shortness of breath (going into oxygen debt). Then see how long you can comfortably hold that pace until you feel the shortness of breath coming. Then maybe push a little further.
At this moment, my tempo runs are 8 miles long at a pace faster than my best marathon pace, but slower than my best half-marathon pace.
Tip 5: Hills
Frank Shorter, the 1972 marathon champ, famously said, “Hills are speed work in disguise.” What he means is that even though you’re not running fast uphill, you’re still getting the kinds of benefits that speed training provides.
Whether you choose long or short hill runs or hill sprints, your body will build strength and endurance carrying your weight up and down the hills. That can improve your speed. And the good news is, during hill training, you can ignore the pace on your watch. You’re simply going to be slower running uphill. Just give it your best effort and be satisfied with the work.
Tip 6: Core Muscles
Just as hill training helps build the strength that can improve your speed, strengthening your core muscles can have the same positive effect. Running speed and endurance do not come from your legs alone.
And it’s not just your abs. Your core extends from your shoulders to your hips. “Your core stabilizes every part of your body,” says Mike Durner, a certified strength and conditioning coach and exercise physiologist. “With a weak core, everything else in your body will fatigue much more quickly.” Paying attention to core strengthening, then, can make a significant contribution to improving your speed and endurance. In a “Runner’s World” article from January 2021, A.C. Shilton and Molly Ritterbeck offer six effective core exercises. They can be found here. If you’re looking for a basic strength training workout, read this post. For alternatives to the classic strength training routine, click here.
The above tips can help any runner, beginner, or competitive. Whether you’re an ancient athlete like me, hoping to stand on the age-group podium in your next marathon, or a fitness runner wanting to step up to the next level of fitness, speed training can make the difference. But remember to build gradually and to give yourself the rest and recovery your body needs to avoid injury and to keep the enjoyment in your running.
This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please speak to your medical doctor if you have any questions or concerns or before beginning any exercise program.
Originally published at https://therunnersroute.com on March 17, 2021.
