And if thats the case, we have a term that can help you get there: speed work.
The concept of speed work is simple.
It simply refers to spurts of faster running within your normal or easier pace.
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Its intended to train your body and muscles torun harder for longer distances, such as a goal race.
Speed work might seem intimidating for people who run but dont exactly consider themselves sprinters.
Spoiler: You donthaveto be superfast to benefit from speedwork.
And nope, speed work doesnt necessarily mean all-out, breathless sprints, either.
Establish an aerobic base first.
Speed work is not something you should jump right into if youjuststarted to run.
You should check that you have a solid running base first.
The time it takes to develop this base depends on each individual runner and their particular training goals.
During that time, youd ideally be hitting three days a week of 30-minute runs at an easy pace.
Wait until your body can comfortably handle three miles.
Mentally ease yourself into speed.
This is what contributes to newer runners feeling mentally scarred and not like a real runner, Corkum says.
Give yourself time to enjoy your easy runs without stressing over your speed.
Then when youre ready to start, temper your expectations.
Looking to those advanced workouts can overwhelm you before you even really begin.
Even after you start adding speed, the majority of your runs should still be at an easy pace.
So what does this mean, practically speaking?
Schedule speed workouts wisely.
It should also become less noticeable as yourbody gets strongerand begins to anticipate hard efforts, says Corkum.
That means definitely no back-to-back speed-based workouts (even if you run on consecutive days).
A training cycle doesn’t necessarily need to fit in a calendar week.
Learn to stride, not sprint.
Thats where the term strides comes in.
Sprinkle in those strides.
Recover until you fully catch your breath before starting your next stride.
(Whether its virtual or whenever an in-person event may be.)
Try speed endurance runs.
With speed endurance, you should be running at a sustained, hard pace thats faster than your5Keffort.
For many runners, that would be close to the pace they could run for an all-out mile.
One example of a speed endurance run is six or nine 300-meter intervals, broken into sets of three.
For instance, youd run three, 300-meter intervals with 60 seconds jogging recovery in between.
Then youd rest three minutes before doing it again once or twice more.
Take your speed endurance to the track.
Try fartleks to make your workouts fun.
Dont have access to a track, or dont want to be tied to your watch?
With a fartlek, youll go between speed pushes and recovery for varying times or distances.
Pay attention to form,breathing, and make it a game with the next push.
In between your pushes, alternate a recovery jog until youre able to breathe comfortably, Mayer says.
Sandwich in your fartleks to beef up a workout.
Say you plan on running for 40 minutes.
That leaves you with 20 minutes of fartleks sandwiched in between.
Try VO2max intervals if youre a more seasoned runner.
First, find your VO2max pace.
According to Mayer, this is approximately the pace at which you could run for an all-out 10-minute effort.
If you want to give it a shot, use your 5K or max mile pace to get started.
Complete five intervals, with a warmup and cooldown of 12 miles or 1015 minutes each.
Go by feel, not by pace.
The workouts should be challenging but not totally exhausting.
Tweak your watch display.
Thats where playing the preventive game can come in big.
Run hills to build speed.
Those muscles can help with powering through faster workouts or races.
So dont forget to think about incline when youre planning out your training.
Add explosive work to your training.
Ever wonder why you still feel like you struggle on small hills even if you run them fairly often?
(Try thisHIIT leg workoutfor some plyo motivation.)
Add in mobility work.
This can make your stride feel shorter and choppier.
Acknowledge the life stress of 2020.
Thats pretty common for runners who racemyself included.
But unfortunately, regular, solo runs usually dont come with that same adrenaline.
Enjoy your easy runs becoming…easier.
