Workouts to increase running speed

cavewoman15

An MFP tri friend recommended this article yesterday after requests for help on increasing my running speed: http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/run-a-5k-faster-with-these-five-fun-workouts?cid=socTP_20140828_30557126

I tried the first workout yesterday and it was hard, but very fun! I'm not sore or tired today (wasn't sure how my body would take the faster running because it's used to my snail pace). I'm planning to do one of these a week and one distance run a week this fall. I'll report back on whether my speed increases in a couple months. Stay tuned..

scott091501

http://www.usatriathlon.org/about-multisport/multisport-zone/multisport-lab/articles/8-tough-workouts-090214.aspx

There's some good stuff in there.

blackcloud13

For my reference. the 5k tips looked good. Keen to see how you get on

wpayers

Simply put, to add speed to your performance you must add speed to your training plan. A basic guideline should be 80/20% slow distance/fast for a typical week. Ideally, the 20% should done on a track doing repeats ranging from 400 to 1600. The overall distance for the track workouts will depend on fitness level. Finding a reliable group or team to train with on the track will help greatly.

scott091501

Simply put, to add speed to your performance you must add speed to your training plan. A basic guideline should be 80/20% slow distance/fast for a typical week. Ideally, the 20% should done on a track doing repeats ranging from 400 to 1600. The overall distance for the track workouts will depend on fitness level. Finding a reliable group or team to train with on the track will help greatly.

I don't find this to be true at all. There are a lot of variables that go into determining how much speed work to do. Someone with an insufficient base of running fitness needs to spend FAR less (closer to 0% than 20%). Someone with a huge base can spend much more time running fast. Also I find the venue for the speed work is of little or no consequence. We don't race on a track, there is no reason to do speed work on a track. It's just as easy to use your watch and the lap button to keep track of hr/pace/time for any given interval on the road as it is on the track.

cavewoman15

thanks for the advice all! seems like people vary on the preferences for speed work. honestly, given that i have literally done ZERO speed work this year while training, i think anything i do will help a lot. i'm gonna stick to running on the lakefront path because it gives me incredible joy and inner peace but i will keep track on a timer on my phone.

i think my biggest concern is that the speed workouts for a 5K distance are not long enough to give me improvements on my 15K distance. i'm pairing a speed workout a week with a longer run (building from a 10K distance to a 15K distance over a few weeks), but i'm wondering how much progress i'll make with the shorter speed workouts. oh well.. no harm in trying! especially because they are fun i have also read that interval training is good for weight loss and i need to drop some LBS, so hopefully there will be multiple benefits.

thanks again or the great advice and discussion!

scott091501

If you're looking for longer stuff you can do stuff like this:

Warm up for 20 minutes.
1:00 All Out / :30 Super Easy
2:00 All Out / 1:00 Super Easy
3:00 All Out / 1:30 Super Easy
4:00 All Out / 2:00 Super Easy
5:00 All Out / 2:30 Super Easy
4:00 All Out / 2:00 Super Easy
3:00 All Out / 1:30 Super Easy
2:00 All Out / 1:00 Super Easy
1:00 All Out / :30 Super Easy
Cool Down to total time of 1:20


or

20 Min warm up
1/4 Mile all out , 90 seconds rest
1/2 Mile all out, 2 Min rest
1 Mile all out, 3 Min rest
1 Mile all out, 3 Min rest
1/2 Mile all out, 2 Min Rest
1/4 Mile all out, 90 seconds rest
Run out to total time of 1:10

wpayers

Fair point...however. I respectfully disagree with your singular view of base. Everyone has some sort of base, and regardless of fitness level, we should follow general rules of physiology and the advice of experts. I am very experienced in endurance activities but not an expert, and I assume the same can be said for you. So, for the sake of this discussion, our opinions cancel each other out.

In forums like these we should be careful not to deal in absolutes. My suggestion of following 80/20 is purposefully open ended; notwithstanding, I stand by my recommendation of training with a group on a track group. Ask any running coach.

Regardless, HERE is an expert's opinion:

"Respected running and fitness expert Matt Fitzgerald explains how the 80/20 running program—in which you do 80 percent of runs at a lower intensity and just 20 percent at a higher intensity—is the best change runners of all abilities can make to improve their performance. With a thorough examination of the science and research behind this training method, 80/20 Running is a hands-on guide for runners of all levels with training programs for 5K, 10K, half-marathon, and marathon distances."

I recommend any open minded endurance athlete delve deeper into Matt's work.

scott091501

Fair point...however. I respectfully disagree with your singular view of base. Everyone has some sort of base, and regardless of fitness level, we should follow general rules of physiology and the advice of experts. I am very experienced in endurance activities but not an expert, and I assume the same can be said for you. So, for the sake of this discussion, our opinions cancel each other out.

In forums like these we should be careful not to deal in absolutes. My suggestion of following 80/20 is purposefully open ended; notwithstanding, I stand by my recommendation of training with a group on a track group. Ask any running coach.

Regardless, HERE is an expert's opinion:

"Respected running and fitness expert Matt Fitzgerald explains how the 80/20 running program—in which you do 80 percent of runs at a lower intensity and just 20 percent at a higher intensity—is the best change runners of all abilities can make to improve their performance. With a thorough examination of the science and research behind this training method, 80/20 Running is a hands-on guide for runners of all levels with training programs for 5K, 10K, half-marathon, and marathon distances."

I recommend any open minded endurance athlete delve deeper into Matt's work.

I like Matt's book(s). I like Matt. My professional opinion is that I'd rather have my athletes do their speed work on the street than on a track.

KathleenKP

i think my biggest concern is that the speed workouts for a 5K distance are not long enough to give me improvements on my 15K distance. i'm pairing a speed workout a week with a longer run (building from a 10K distance to a 15K distance over a few weeks), but i'm wondering how much progress i'll make with the shorter speed workouts. oh well.. no harm in trying! especially because they are fun i have also read that interval training is good for weight loss and i need to drop some LBS, so hopefully there will be multiple benefits.

Since I also have done very little speed work, I thought I would start with the smaller distance and work up (geared for 5K work). Or include it as part of a longer workout. (So also add in a 3 mile regular paced run, for example.) Mostly, my goal for this fall is to work on some intensity/intervals, shorter workouts so I can give my body/mind a break, and to see if I can make some progress in the weight loss area. I will probably still do a couple longer workouts every week to keep endurance up. I also need to work on some shorter runs where I can focus on technique. I think doing the longer runs that I was doing just kept reinforcing wrong technique and one speed. My body gets too tired and I fall into doing what it knows how to do, reinforcing what I don't necessarily want to be doing.