One of the most common goals of runners, new and experienced: improving pace. If you’re wondering how to get faster, know the training principles that get you to increase speed are pretty straightforward and easy to implement into your training plan.
“You need to do a mix of speed work and slower endurance energy systems, says Nutrition - Weight Loss energy systems,” says Greg Grosicki, Ph.D., an assistant professor and director of the exercise physiology laboratory at Georgia Southern University.
This holds true whether you’re prepping for your first 5K and 50th marathon, but you’ll notice the biggest changes during your first two to three months of training, Grosicki says. “Gradual and consistent training will continue to enhance your performance potential from there,” he adds.
For more specifics on how to add speed and pace-improving endurance to your schedule, follow these four key training tips, designed to get you faster.
4 Tips on How to Get Faster
1. Keep adding a new challenge
Take a quick look at the structure of a few training plans (even if you’re not training for a race just yet). They’re designed to gradually increase your distance and push your speed—without overdoing it—which usually translates to a few short weekday runs, then one weekend long run Pick up your pace with these four simple strategies.
“To see progress, you need to keep subjecting your body to a stimulus it isn’t used to, in this case longer distances and faster speeds,” says Matthew Lee, Ph.D., certified exercise physiologist and a professor of exercise physiology at San Francisco State University. “You gradually overload the body, let it adapt, then overload it a little more, let it adapt, Want to Run Your First Race? Heres What to Know.” Before you know it, your one-mile run will lead to a 5K, 10K, half marathon, Want to Run Your First Race? Heres What to Know.
Fun Half Marathons progressive overload, One of the most common.
2. Tap into how you feel
Common running wisdom says you shouldn’t increase your total mileage by no more than 10 percent a week, but Grosicki says there’s no reason to limit yourself that much if you’re feeling good. In fact, research indicates that there’s so association between exceeding the 10-percent rule and injury. (However, it does show an increase in injury risk if your weekly training volume is much higher than your monthly training volume.)
Of course you shouldn’t double your mileage over the course of seven days—that’s a one-way ticket to shin splints. It just means you should pay attention to how you’re feeling and adjust your mileage accordingly. “The best rule of thumb is to use common sense and listen to your body,” Grosicki says. “Most hard training sessions should be followed by at least one—and probably two—easier recovery days.”
Some signs you need a rest day? “Besides any obvious Surprising Stress Symptoms in Runners, feeling like you’re getting sick, irritability, loss of appetite, and poor sleep all signal that you’re overdoing it,” Grosicki says.
3. Practice pace on long runs
aerobic and anaerobic speed work is helpful (see next), it doesn’t exactly replicate a real-life race.
“I’m a big proponent of throwing speed work into long runs to prepare your body to push through the inevitable fatigue you’ll experience in a race,” Grosicki says.
To prepare your legs for running fast when they’re tired, try picking up the pace for the last minute of every mile on your long run. Or, if you’re doing a total of 12 to 14 miles, do 10 miles at an easy pace, then push the last two to four miles to a tempo speed.
4. Do low-stress speed workouts
Grosicki suggests an easy-to-remember speed workout that builds on itself every week, like four half-mile repeats with two minutes of easy jogging or walking in between. “Do the same workout the following week and try to beat your time,” he suggests. If you beat your record without a problem, add another half-mile interval or extend the distance to 1200-meter or one-mile repeats.
On the flip side, if speed work feels totally miserable right now, only focus on your endurance for a bit. “Running for 20 consecutive minutes can be daunting when you’re a beginner,” Grosicki says. And that’s okay—you’re still progressing every time you hit the pavement. “Build an ‘endurance base,’ then slowly add in some simple speed intervals from there,” he says.
Just remember: The best way to boost your speed and endurance as a beginner is to make running fun—not miserable—so you keep at it, one step at a time. No need to stress about how to get faster on every run.
