If you want to run a race faster, you don't necessarily need to run faster in training. Sometimes the best way to race faster is to slow down in training. Specific techniques and training workouts will vary with the type of racing. Sprinters, middle-distance runners and marathoners all need different programs. Recreational runners who race occasionally will have different routines than serious racers. But every runner who races can benefit from some slow running.
The LSD Theory
Some experts in long-distance running expound an LSD theory -- long, slow, distance. Running longer distances at slower paces builds aerobic fitness, so when race time comes there is a solid base of heart and lung capacity to provide speed when it is needed. Most experts recommend doing training runs at no more than 80 percent to 90 percent of projected race speed; train at eight-minute miles and you'll race at seven and a half or faster.
One Example
A good example of how slow running can help build speed is the training of Clyde Hart, coach at Baylor University who has trained some of the world's fastest 400-meter sprinters. He begins his athletes with longer, slower runs, then gradually works in short, intense, fast sprints. This has helped his runners develop greater speed and stay injury-free. More importantly, longer, slower workouts build aerobic endurance, which enables them to maintain strong running throughout a season.
Change Speeds
Some speed training is important for all runners. Even marathoners need short bursts of speed at times, to pass other runners or sprint to a finish. But consistently intense fast running increases the chances of injury and burnout, a time when the body just doesn’t want to respond. Slow running provides breaks and gives muscles a chance to recover. It's best to alternate fast and slow runs, with more slow than fast.
Train Like a Kenyan
Kenyans are some of the world's fastest runners. Part of it is training at high altitude, but some of it is training techniques. Kenyans don't bolt out the door and start running at a training pace the way recreational runners often do. They run slowly at first and gradually increase speed during the workout. Slow workouts also are good for over-distance training. If you're training for a 5-k race, work in some runs of four or fives miles at a slower pace than your regular speed.
References
- Trifuel; Aerobic Base Training -- Going Slow to Get Faster; Matt Russ; 2005
- Team Oregon; Marathon Myths Versus Reality; Patti and Warren Fink
- Run for Life: Training
- Running Warehouse; Train Like a Kenyan; Scott Douglas
- Athletics.org; Train Slower to Race Faster; Andy Friedlander
- The Running Advisor: Training Techniques and Workout Plans
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