Become a faster runner

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One of the most common questions I get from new runners is “How can I become a faster runner?” Now, there’s nothing wrong with a nice easy jog, but if you’re training for a race you’ll eventually need to pick up the pace. If you’re just beginning a running regimine, focus on building up to 3 mile runs at least 3-4 days a week. Once you can do that comfortably, you can start adding in speed work. The only way for a faster pace to eventually feel easier, is to practice! Channel your inner Usain Bolt and read on for my favorite get-speedy tips! 

Run with a faster friend – Once or twice a week, plan to run with a friend who is a bit faster than you. Try to do a mile or so to warm-up and then run some miles with your fleet-footed friend. The company and perhaps a healthy dose of competition will help you to maintain the pace  After several weeks of meeting up, you may find that your friend is no longer the faster one!

Add speed workouts - Depending on your fitness level and training goals, your workouts can be as simple or as complicated as you’d like. If you’re just beginning to add speedwork, try the following workouts:

• On a 400m track, sprint the straight-aways and jog the curves. Do this for 8 laps or 2 miles.
• Every 4 weeks or so, complete a one mile “time-trial” on an outdoor track. Run at the fastest pace you can maintain for an entire mile. Keep track of your times and try to run a few seconds faster during each time trial.
• If you don’t have access to a track, play around with fartlek workouts. Run easy for a few minutes, and then sprint to a mailbox or lamp post that is in the distance, recover by jogging easily, and then do it all over again. Have fun with it! The word fartlek means “speed play” in Swedish.

Sign up for a race - There’s nothing like the thought of an impending race to light a fire under your butt. First, figure out what kind of pace you’d like to run. Example, if you regularly run 10:00 pace for easy runs, your 5K race pace might be somewhere around 8:00 or 8:30 pace. Practice running this pace a few times before race day. Perhaps you could do 1 mile @ race pace, jog easily for a few minutes, and then another 1 mile @ race pace. I sometimes sign up for races just to do them as tempo runs or workouts. Having people around me motivates me to run fast (it’s my inner competitiveness) and the Gatorade, bagels, and freebies at the finish make completeing a workout sort of fun!