RUNNING:: MyStrategies for building speeeeeeed!

Hey all,
I recently talked to a few people who have been stuck at the same running speed for quite awhile, and have also routinely seen this same dilemma posed here on the forums. So I thought I would offer up my suggestions as to what has helped me get faster over the years. While I am not nearly the fastest guy out there, I've been fortunate enough to place in my age group in many races over the years. My personal best times are:
5K - 18:01 (5:48 pace)
10K - 39:59 (6:26 pace)
8 mile - 53:20 (6:40 pace)
1/2 Marathon - 1:33:17 (7:07 pace)
(all set at different times of my life)

I list my times not to brag, as they are not elite times, but many people have claimed them to be "fast", so take that as you will.

Also, the information I'm going to post is what has worked FOR ME, and is not meant to be THE MAIN track to speed. It is merely one suggestion from one guy who found success using it.

First off, I subscribe to a philosophy of "Run less, Run faster". So you will see I don't log a ton of miles, and don't run everyday. Again, this has worked for me! When training for triathlons, I learned I had to compromise one discipline for another throughout the week. Simply put, I just didn't have the time or energy to run more than 4 days per week, at most. The trade-off being that I have never had a running injury after nearly 30 years of running/ racing.

So what is MY strategy? Let's take a look.

First off, before I get into it, I like to have a base of running of 4-6 months before getting into this strategy. This is to insure I have built up enough muscle, joint, and connective tissue strength to avoid injury. So you may not want to get into this if you just started running a month ago.

My training weeks look something like this:

Day 1-- LSD (Long slow distance)- This is your long run, at a conversational pace. When planning to run a 5K or 10K, I want my LSD to be at least twice the distance of my future race. When getting into Half and Full Marathons, the LSD won't be double the race distance. The point of this run is to build a bigger gas tank.

Day 2 -- Active Rest (but no running)

Day 3 -- Hilly run or Hill intervals (maybe 50-75% of the LSD distance) I have one pace for the hills- whatever speed I can run without puking. The point of this run is develop calf, hamstring, and glute power... more so than you would develop on the flats. Building power in your legs and glutes is necessary for the push-off for each stride. I view this workout as developing more torque for my engine.

Day 4 -- Tempo Run - I start this run with a 10-20 minute easy run warm-up, then open the jets. I try to run fairly close to my predicted race pace for several miles. The tempo distance depends on your race length. Personally, I run this pace for about 75% of my race length, and then slow down for the last 10-15 minutes of my run. This run takes guts and really pushes your lactate threshold higher.

Day 5 -- Active Rest (but no running)

Day 6 -- Speed day (Intervals/ Fartleks) - This would be my shortest workout of the week. This can be done at a local high school track, or even on your neighborhood streets. The strategy here is to run fast (not at 100% though) for a short amount of time or distance, recover for a similar time or distance, then repeat again and again. The length of the interval depends on the race length - 5Ks = 200-400yds,,,10K = 400-600yards,,,1/2 marathon = 800yds - 1mile. The number of repeats would start low, around 4-6 per session, and gradually add 1 or 2 each week. I typically do a 1 mile WU and 1 mile CD for 5k and 10k distance workouts. The point of this workout is two-fold: Help raise your lactate threshold (and your V02 max), and also train your legs to turn over faster than you are used to. I envision this workout as giving my engine horsepower.

Day 7 -- Active Rest (but no running)

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You'll notice that I don't have any "easy runs" or "recovery runs" listed. I'm on the side of the fence that views a slow, pointless run as "junk miles". That is my opinion, and would not suggest other runners not do them. I used to have "Easy" days many many years ago, but since dropping them from my workouts found no consequences. Of course you may feel differently. Do whatever you feel comfortable with.

I am always open to sharing ideas to not only help myself improve, but also help others improve. So I would request that other serious racers use this thread to share your strategies with other new runners to help them improve. Let's make this a positive exchange of ideas. Run safe everyone!
JR