To run faster, you need to run fast. This may seem simplistic, but it is the truth. You cannot just do one or two fast training runs and expect to set a new personal record. You need an intelligent training program that lays out a concise strategy that meets your needs and goals. Your body will respond to proper training and get you to that finish line in a much quicker manner.
Base Building
Decide what your goal is--running a 5 or 10 kilometer race, a half marathon, or a full marathon. You may want to use each shorter distance as stepping stones to your ultimate goal of running a marathon fast. Former Olympic marathon competitor, Benji Durden suggests incorporating a combination of running hill repeats, tempo runs and long, slow runs over a 26-week period when aiming for a Boston Marathon qualifying time. By replacing every third weekly long run with a race of the same distance you would have run in training, you gradually teach your body to run faster for longer distances. When race day arrives, running 26.2 miles as fast as you can will not be such a surprise to your body. Even if you are not shooting for a marathon, but you simply want to run a 5 kilometer fast, start gradually by doing just a couple repetitions of hill repeats or race-pace tempo runs with a proper warm-up and cooldown. A good example of your first week of hills is 15 minutes of warm-up, followed by three hill repeats run hard and then 15 minutes of cooldown. For your tempo workout, do 15 minutes of warm-up, 10 minutes of running near your race pace and then 15 minutes of cooldown. This builds your base for running faster. One key element to remember is to follow-up your hard workouts with easy jogging days. This allows your body to recover from fatigue and regenerate your muscle fibers.
Start Running Faster
Once you build a solid base for teaching your body how to handle running harder, you can increase the number of repetitions and the amount of time in your workouts. As the weeks of training progress and you grow stronger, you can now transition from the hills, and move to the track. Depending on the distance you plan to run faster, you can incorporate what is called a ladder. The first week you start by running 200-meter repeats, with each repeat followed by a jogging cooldown of the same distance. A good first workout is 4 x 200 with a 4 x 200 cooldown. Do not forget the mandatory 15 minutes of warm-up before you start and 15 minutes of cooldown afterward. As the weeks on the track progress, you climb the ladder by doing 200-meter repeats, followed by 400-meter repeats, followed by 800 meters and then 1,600 meters. Once you get up to 1,600 meters, start back down the ladder by doing 1,600 meters again, followed by 800, 400 and then 200. Always make sure to do a jog recovery of the same distance repeat you just ran, followed by the 15 minutes of cooldown at the end of the workout. Remember to do this gradually, over a number of weeks, as you teach your body to handle the new workload, culminating in the last workout, where you run the entire ladder. Never do a track workout more than once a week to allow your body plenty of time to recover and grow stronger.
Reap The Reward - A Personal Best
So, you have spent weeks, even months, with the goal of running a race or races in a personal best finishing time. It is time to reap the reward of all those hard workouts. Through the principle of a long, gradual buildup of your leg speed, conditioning and capacity to run harder for longer periods, you are now ready to go for that personal record. The weeks of hill repeats, tempo runs, track workouts and long, slow, distance runs, your body is now ready to race. And, with this properly conditioned body comes a confident mental attitude, too.
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