Sprints or long distance?

eatlessrunmore

I have been running/jogging for about 5 months now. I have seen my body go through many different changes, weight loss, muscle gain, plateau's and through it all I just keep running. I need to increase my speed, but I am addicted to long distance, I usually run about 4 miles a day at the least. Yesterday I ran 8 miles! It felt great and I felt great throughout the rest of the day. I know that this will help me shred the fat and I am taking vitamins and supplements to keep my body from eating my current muscle mass. So here's my question, does sprinting really make that big of a difference when it comes to speed? I am currently in the airforce and need to increase my run time as that is the bulk of my score. Any suggestions?

mkspriggs

Sprinting is the only good way to get speed, In army we incorparate 30;60 and 60:120 where your sprinting and then recovering. this will get you where you want fast do atleast 2 miles worth of these to see a good progression.

NitaCB

Yes speedwork can make a big difference. Try adding in some 1 km sections (sorry not sure what that is in miles) into your run where you run at about 80% of your max, so quite fast, then bring it back down to normal. Just having in some intervals like that will start to make a difference. Or try going to runnersworld.com, they have a huge database that can give you some good advice on where to start with speedwork. It is totally possible to increase your speed well, you just have to train your body to be able to handle it and to know what it actually feels like. And by all means keep up the long distance stuff, especially if you enjoy it. Why don't you train for a half-marathon or something? It's great to have a goal to work towards. Good luck!

fteale

To get faster (and to stop your body getting used to the level of intensity you do), you should do a sprint/varied session once a week. Start with 30 seconds of sprinting, 2 mins jog, 30 seconds sprint etc. Just doing occasional sprints will increase your overall speed and stamina on the long runs.

wbgolden

So 30 second sprint followed by 60 second recovery?

Good topic. I've been wondering the same thing. I need to read up more. Is this what they call "interval" training? All I ever do is run as far as I can. Then I stop. lol

Runnergabe

It sounds like you have a great running base built, congratulations!

If you want to run faster, you need to train faster. Couple of things you can do. If you have a track to run on, run 400 repeats. Run 400m at an all out pace, slowly jog or walk 200m and repeat 4 to 6 times. As you get better and stronger with this, turn them into 800's. Or run the straights of the track all out and then walk the corners.
If you don't have a track, doing the same thing between telephone poles on a road will work.

Or sign up for a 5k and race it. The adrenalin of the race will help you run very fast.

Lastly, hill repeats will make you stronger and faster. Find a pretty steep hill and run it up for 90 seconds as fast as you can (watch good running form). The slowly jog down. Repeat 4-6 times.

These two things work really well for distance runners looking to improve race times (anything from 5k to Half and Full Marathon). They'll make you stronger and will sharpen your running and increase your speed.

rileysowner

Interval training would be very helpful for you. Check out Intervaltraining.net for more information.

coguar99

I agree with the other two, though the term you're looking for is 'interval training'. You should be able to find workout plans online (for free) that will give you a guideline for how to train for various distances (5K, 10K, etc). It's basically adding sections of higher speed into your longer runs. You can continue running for distance, and if you add in the speed intervals, you ought to see your overall times start to decline.

One thing we did in track in high school was called "Tough Turkeys." Find a 400m track, divide your ideal time for whatever distance by 4 (4x400m= 1 mile), then run 13 times around the track targeting that split time with 30 seconds of rest in between 400s. It's a very tough workout, but it will yield the results you're looking for.

ferrari420

basic lounges , and squats will help with your speed. however, you have add sprints into your running routine as well .

Quad , strengh is the useful in gaining speed.

eatlessrunmore

I'll give it a go, thanks for the advice. I only have to run the mile and half in 13:13, but the faster I run, the better my score