Are you a regular runner who wants to add some variety to your routine and at the same time get faster? Speed workouts could be your missing ingredient.
What is speedwork?
It’s not as scary as it sounds. Speed workouts consist of faster efforts. which push you outside of your comfort zone, with recovery intervals in between. It’s definitely not all out sprinting! Instead think of fast controlled running. You should be breathing heavier than your normal run and only able to say a short sentence or a few words, depending on the type of workout.
You can do speed workouts in your local park, on a treadmill, or use paths near your home. You just want to make sure that you have a smooth surface so there is less risk of tripping or falling.
It's key you don't jump straight into speedwork without building a base. You should be comfortable running 5k and have been running regularly for 3 months.
How often?
Initially, I’d recommend doing speedwork every 7-10 days. Be patient and see how your body adapts to it. Too much too soon and you will increase your risk of injury. According to recent research doing more than 20% of your total training time at high intensity will decrease your performance. Less is definitely more when it comes to speed workouts.
Speed Workouts
Below are 3 ways to start incorporating speedwork into your running.
Strides
These are short accelerations over 100 metres or 30 seconds. Aim to run fast and relaxed, not all out sprinting. Your effort level should be between 8-9 out of 10.
How to do them: Over 30 metres or 10 seconds gradually increase your speed, hold a fast controlled effort for 30-40 metres or 10 seconds, then reduce your speed for the final 30 metres or 10 seconds. Walk back to recover.
When: During the middle or at the end of a midweek easy run. Start with 4 strides and gradually build up to doing 8-10.
Fartlek
Fartlek is the swedish for speed play. At its heart it is a simple fun way to do speedwork
After a 10 minute warm up run, pick a landmark (i.e tree, shop, postbox) to run towards at a faster effort (between 7-9 out of 10). Once you reach the landmark return to a slow jog or walk. Recover for as long as you need, then choose another landmark. Keep repeating, varying the distance and speed for around 15-20 minutes.
If you want a more structured format, then you can do fartlek intervals such as:
10 minute warm up run, then 5 x 1 minute fast with 90 seconds of easy jogging between each effort, 5 minute cooldown jog.
Pyramid intervals - 10 minute warm up run, then 30 seconds, 60 seconds, 90 seconds, 90 seconds, 60 seconds, 30 seconds with a 1-2 minute easy jog between each effort, finish with a 5 minute cool down jog.
Hills
You may have been avoiding hills, but as you progress as a runner you’re going to encounter them soon enough. Start to embrace them, you’ll soon discover they are not as bad as you imagined. As well helping you to run faster, hills can increase your leg strength and improve your running form.
Warm up for 10 minutes, then find a hill that is not too steep and has a gradual gradient. Start with 5 x 30 seconds efforts at a fast controlled speed. Do a slow jog or walk down the hill to recover. Remember to pace yourself as you want to finish each effort strong. Finish with a 5 minute cooldown jog.
As you progress you can increase the number of hill efforts building up to 10.
Speedwork will push you outside of your comfort zone, but it will help you get faster and keep your runs interesting! Do get in touch if you have any questions.
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