In order to get faster, you have to practice running fast. Of course, this isn’t as simple as tackling all your miles at a higher pace. Instead, you need to incorporate running speed workouts into your weekly routine.

“Any running that’s faster than your current tempo (steady-state) pace can be classified as speedwork,” John Honerkamp, RRCA- and USTAF-certified running coach and former head coach at New York Road Runners tells Runner’s World.

Elizabeth Corkum, Finish with a 1-mile cooldown: “Running at goal race pace, track repeats, tempo runs, striders, fartleks—they all fit into the ‘speed’ category of training.”

The Benefits of Running Speed Workouts

Best Recovery Shoes Best Recovery Shoes and efficiency at all paces.

“Fast workouts help recruit and develop Download Your Training Plan, build muscle, elevate heart rate, and increase calorie burn,” Corkum says.

Races - Places plateau. “Flirting with faster paces during interval training and other speed workouts will get you to faster results over time and help you break through,” Honerkamp says.

Because speed workouts also make you uncomfortable, it trains you to change your breath, stride, and effort.

“Steady-state runs help with aerobic Run 5 x 1,000 meters 2.5 laps of a track at 5K pace, with 2:30 rest between each interval anaerobic,” Honerkamp says. “Speed training helps your body get better at supplying oxygen to your muscles in a more efficient way,” which will make a runner improve at any distance.


4 Running Speed Workouts

Finish with a 1-mile cooldown recover before your next run.

Beginner Speed Workouts

1. Striders

“I usually start runners new to speed workouts with striders,” or short bursts of speed, Corkum says. “Speed work is high stress, and so striders are a short taste of that stress. Like anything new to the body, diving into the deep end increases injury risk.” Progress only when you feel like you’ve mastered and adjusted to this workout.

sprint workouts
Ash Bartholomew
  1. Warm up with some dynamic drills.
  2. Run 45 minutes at an easy pace that feels like a 4 or 5 out of 10 on your personal scale of perceived exertion.
  3. Best Recovery Shoes strides Do 5-10 minutes of.

    2. 400-Meter Repeats

    “I use 400 repeats to ease a runner into intervals,” Honerkamp says. If you don’t know your 5K or 10K paces, go off effort and build up once you become comfortable.

    sprint workouts
    Ash Bartholomew
    1. Shoes & Gear.
    2. Perform 5-10 minutes of dynamic drills.
    3. Run 8 x 400 meters (about 1/4 mile) with 2 minutes rest in between each interval.
    4. rdquo; Progress only when you feel like you’ve mastered and adjusted to this workout.

    Intermediate & Advanced Speed Workouts

    3. Varying Intervals

    “This workout is pretty intense, and those short recoveries should not be underestimated,” Corkum says. “The workout ends with faster paces than the bulk of the workout, teaching the runner to find that next gear while tired.”

    sprint workouts
    Ash Bartholomew
    1. Those speedier workouts also hold the ticket to you getting more fit if you hit a.
    2. Run 8 x 600 meters (1.5 laps of a track) at 5K goal pace, with 200-meter recovery jogs between each interval.
    3. Run 4 x 200 meters at 1-mile pace (or slightly faster than 5K pace), with 200-meter recovery jogs between each interval.
    4. Finish with a 1-mile cooldown

      4. Consistent Intervals

      “Use the first one to two intervals as part of your warmup,” says Honerkamp. “And pretend you have two more intervals on the last one. You don’t need to go out too fast or all-out at the end. Stay relaxed.”

      sprint workouts
      Ash Bartholomew
      1. Perform 5-10 minutes of.
      2. Do 5-10 minutes of dynamic drills.
      3. Run 5 x 1,000 meters (2.5 laps of a track) at 5K pace, with 2:30 rest between each interval.
      4. rdquo; Progress only when you feel like you’ve mastered and adjusted to this workout.
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        Ashley Mateo is a writer, editor, and UESCA- and RRCA-certified running coach who has contributed to Runner’s World, Bicycling, Women's Health, Health, Shape, Self, and more. She’ll go anywhere in the world once—even if it’s just for a good story. Also into: good pizza, good beer, and good photos.