Once most newbie runners work their way up to a goal, often a 5K, they have their eyes on the next goal: they want to get faster. I went through the same thing when I first started running: I finished my first 5K in November of 2005 and decided that I wanted to run the same race the next year in under 30 minutes. To get faster, I needed to add some speedwork into my training.
So you want to get faster. But, where do you start? These workouts are what I’d recommend as a running coach as speedwork for beginning runners.
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Strides
As a running coach, I would recommend starting with strides. They’re really easy to do and even advanced runners incorporate strides into their workouts. In addition to helping us run faster, strides teach our body how to have good leg turnover and help our body learn a more efficient running form.
To run strides, you start out at a jogging pace, then gradually accelerate to relatively fast pace for you—not quite a sprint, but close. You run for just a couple seconds at that top pace, then gradually slow down to a jog.
To start, I’d recommend starting with 4 to 6 strides that are 100 to 150 m in length. Try adding in strides after an easy run once or ideally twice a week. As you get more comfortable with strides, you can add more in, gradually working up to 10 strides twice a week.
The Fartlek
If you’re getting used to strides, try adding a fartlek into your routine. I know, I know, funny name. It actually means ‘speed play’ in Swedish. I love the fartlek because it’s relatively unstructured, so you can listen to your body and do as much or as little as you’d like. Fartleks get us used to running fast for longer periods of time than strides, helping our bodies adapt to deliver oxygen to our muscles and remove waste products like lactic acid more efficiently.
So, how do you fartlek? It’s actually really simple. I like to pick a landmark somewhere in the distance: a light pole, a turn in the path, or even a pretty plant. Once you’ve picked your landmark, you run at about 70-90% effort to that landmark. Once you’ve reached the landmark, you slow down to an easier pace to recover for a minute or two, then pick another landmark and speed up again. If you’re on a treadmill, you can run a fartlek by time: 1 minute fast, 1 minute slow, etc.
Fartleks should be done after you’ve fully warmed up, so I’d recommend some easy jogging for 10 minutes or so, then running the fartlek segments for 15 minutes to start, with a 10 minute cool down jog. As you get further in your training, you can increase the duration of your fartlek up to 30 minutes. One fartlek workout a week is definitely enough to help you get faster!
Just be sure that you don’t do a fartlek workout and a stride workout on the same day or even on back-to-back days. Too much fast running too quickly is a surefire way to get injured!
More on speedwork for beginning runners from other sources:
Running 101: Basic Speedwork for Runners via Competitor
Speedwork for Every Runner via Runner’s World
New Runner? 5 Beginner Questions via Runners Connect (scroll down to “How do I Get Faster?”)
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Do you care about getting faster?
Seasoned runners: what speed tips do you have for newbies?
What’s a running goal that you have?
Speed work is my favorite type of training run especially if it’s at the hight school track. Great info!
Thanks, Jill! Confession: I am too nervous/self conscious to go run at the high school track so I do my speed work on the treadmill. (hangs head in shame)
I do care about getting faster, though I haven’t put the work in this past training cycle to the point that I thought that I would, or would be able to. But I really hope to turn that around this spring and summer!
I hear ya. I go through cycles where I’m like, “No, let go of the ego, it doesn’t matter how fast you run” and, “You are too slow! Get off your butt and go to the track!” Good luck to both of us getting some speed back in our legs once the snow melts. 🙂
Great points! The one thing that helped me get way faster was speedwork…specifically, Yasso 800’s at the track. Those were sick but so effective!
Love me some Yasso 800s. Gotta run faster to get faster.
Great post! I like to run repeats (800 m x 6-12) and tempo runs. I think tempos have been the greatest speed enhancer for me because you’re training your body to run close to threshold level for an extended period of time.
Ooh, good one! I love Yasso 800s for marathon training!
I have never done fartlek trainer. I only ever do speed work along with my daily runs. Maybe I should start incorporating That into my workouts.
Definitely try doing a fartlek sometime! It’s a really fun way to add in some unstructured speedwork.
I love speedwork! I like going all out, and I like the rest in between! Just like yoga.
Amen to that, Wendy! I’m definitely there with ya!
I tend to be more of a long and slow runner, but my favorite speedwork is fartleks. I sometimes throw a few into a long run, just to break things up a little.
Thanks for linking up with us.
My pleasure! Thanks for hosting the linkup! I’ll throw in a few pickups during my long runs, too. (Especially if I’m trying to get across a busier road. ;))
Love this! I just started adding speedwork into my running workouts this round of half marathon training- I can definitely see a difference in my performance! And to be honest, I don’t hate them 🙂
Excellent, glad to hear it’s working for you! I’ve gotten a lot out of adding speed workouts to marathon training, too. Sometimes it stinks to run hard, but once you start seeing results, suddenly running hard is a lot less tough. 🙂
Speed work was scary at first, but it’s actually my favorite workout! It goes by so fast and I feel like a rock star when I’m done! Thanks for linking up with us!
I LOVE the feeling of nailing a good speed workout. Nothing beats that confident feeling!