What if I'm Just Beginning to Work on My Speed?

First, welcome to our website, and hopefully, to our Wednesday night workouts. All levels of ability are encouraged to join us.

Second, if you are just beginning to work on your speed as a runner, you really aren't. That is, what you will be working on are: (1) strength; (2) power; and (3) running efficiency.

Strength is what sustains your ability to hold a good, hard pace over increasingly long distances. It is the difference between the runner who runs to finish the event, and the one who races it, close to the edge of exhaustion, but not hitting that edge until the finish.

Power is what gives you the ability to make the effort in the first place: to conquer the hill instead of just survive it, or to get your legs up and down during the last stages of the race, rather than plodding along and slowing down.

Running Efficiency is what will maximize your strength and power, and your ability to best use the fuel that your body is storing at the start of the race.

So, if you're just beginning to work on speed, what should you do?

(First, make you are doing a long run each week, on average, of 8-10 miles. This is essential background preparation.)

The most basic "speed" workout is to run on hills. Hill-running teaches all three elements: strength, power, and running efficiency. Include hills in your long runs, and use hills for repeat workouts: start with a few repeats of a hill at least 150 meters long, using the downhill to recover. See if you can increase to 8 or even 10 repeats. But take your time building up.

The next most basic speed workout is "speed-play," or, according to the Swedes who popularized this form of workout, "fartlek." It means going to the place you should want to run the most — a trail with decent footing, or a large, grassy park, and running easy for the most part, but with bursts of fast running lasting as little as 20 seconds, and as long as 6 minutes. But not overly fast. This is a workout that is prone to burn out if not handled properly. Ideally, there should be some hills. Most of all, allow yourself to fully recover from your last effort before starting off on the next one. (Advanced fartlek workouts can be more difficult, but that's not for you to consider at this point.)

So, where does speed come in? Yes, as you progress, you will do some workouts that will maximize your basic speed. But they won't improve it, or not that much, because basic speed is what God has given you. Fortunately, basic speed is highly overrated. Most of the time when you see a long-distance runner cruising at an impressive pace, you are not observing basic speed — you are seeing strength, power, and running efficiency, highly developed, bringing out the best in that athlete.

All of us can strive for this, and all of us can achieve it. Welcome!