Whether your sport is cross country running, distance racing or any team sport that emphasizes speed, track running can help you increase your speed. While joining a track team gives you access to formal speed training, simply adding track workouts to your exercise routine will provide ample opportunities for speed work. Check with your doctor before starting a running program if you have a history of heart or orthopedic problems.
Benefits
Track running gives you a manageable and measurable area for speed play. The track is ideal for interval training, alternating between speed and periods of recovery. Depending on your sport, optimal sprint intervals range from 30 to 2,000 m. To increase speed, marathon coach and author Hal Higdon recommends that you increase your overall mileage and practice running faster. Running track provides an opportunity for both.
Workouts
If you want to increase speed for shorter distances, which is helpful for sports such as football, baseball and basketball, use the track to alternate between 30- to 200-m sprints and 90-second to two-minute recovery runs, for example. If you want to improve your finish time for distance racing, aim for longer intervals of speed, running 800-m or 1-mile repeats, with 60-second recovery runs, advises United Kingdom Athletics track and field coach Brian Mackenzie.
Endurance and Speed
The difference between endurance and speed training during track workouts is the recovery time between intervals. Aim for one endurance workout and one speed workout per week to maximize your potential for speed during running or other sports event. To improve your endurance, implement shorter periods of recovery between sprints and run your sprints at 90 percent of maximum effort. For example, an endurance workout might consist of eight speed intervals at 200 m each with two minutes of recovery between sprints.
Speed-specific intervals allow more time for recovery between sprints and are typically run at 100 percent of maximum effort. For example, Mackenzie's two-phase training program designed to improve speed over short distances includes 30- to 120-m sprint intervals with five-minute recoveries.
Considerations
If you play team sports or run cross-country, consult with your coach before changing your training program. Your coach may have advice specific to your sport that can help you improve your speed. Taking your speed workouts away from the track occasionally can help you avoid burnout and give you practice running on different terrains. Timed intervals and hill sprints, for example, give you alternative workouts that you can practice either on-road or off-road.
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