Running tips from an olympic runner!

I've been posting a lot of stuff lately, sorry about that, but I just wrote a blog on this and figured I would share it on the community board too!

So I used to have this babysitter when I was a kid. Her name was Sara Bei. She got married and now her name is Sara Hall, her husband is Olympic runner and Boston Marathon record holder Ryan Hall. She has some awesome tips for running and I started using them so i figured I would share!



First, check your form!

You should be leaning upright, not back. I'm not a master as explaining proper form so bear with me

The way I do it:

I almost do knee highs. I get my legs high enough and far enough in front of me that i can create almost a wheel motion.

As far as training on the treadmill goes:

Set the incline to 1.0. This will account for outside running conditions. If you set it higher, you will also knock out speed training. I'll explain

The way I do it :

Let's assume I'm running a 5k

I set the incline to 1.5 for the first mile and run at 7.0 (your speeds will vary depending on how fast you run obviously).

For mile 2 i increase the incline to 2.0 and increase my speed to 7.5 (sometimes I'll do this during the first mile if I'm feeling good...the main thing is to increase the incline)

At around mile 2.5, I'll decrease the incline to 1.5 again and maintain my speed where it is

This is the fun part-- around 2.80-2.85 miles, decrease the incline to 0.0. You'll be able to increase your speed by at least .5 mph... I'll run from mile 2.75 to mile 3 at 8.0mph with ease then kick it up to 9.0 for the last .10 mile for my kick.

This has helped me improve my 5k time significantly

If you want to just target speed training:

Run at a comfortable speed (a speed you could run at for a long while) for .5 of a mile. Increase your speed by anywhere from .3 to .5 mph and run there for .25 of a mile. Alternate until you've finished for the day (I'll do anywhere from 3-6 miles.

Eventually the increase will become your comfortable speed.

I went from my comfortable speed of 6.0 to a comfortable speed of 7.3-7.5 depending on the day.



Try it out! You'll increase speed and endurance in no time!