To improve your speed, you must practice running at a faster pace. Of course, this isn’t as simple as tackling all your miles at a higher pace. Instead, 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, certified running coach and former head coach at New York Road Runners, tells Runner’s World.

…speed workouts are important because they help improve your form and efficiency at all paces.

Elizabeth Corkum, a USATF-certified running coach, agrees: “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
However you do it, speed workouts are important because they help improve your form and efficiency at all paces.

“Fast workouts help recruit and develop fast-twitch muscle fibres, build muscle, elevate heart rate, and increase calorie burn,” Corkum says.

Those speedier workouts also hold the ticket to you getting fitter if you hit a 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, they train you to change your breath, stride, and effort.

“Steady-state runs help with aerobic strength, whereas speedwork is more 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 Speed Workouts to Incorporate in Your Training Programme
Add speed workouts to your schedule just one to two days a week. Give yourself a day to 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.

• Warm up with some dynamic drills.
• Run 45 minutes at an easy pace that feels like a 4 or 5 out of 10 on your personal scale of perceived exertion.
• Finish with 4-6 x 20-second strides on a track, flat road, or field at max effort, with 30- to 45-second recovery jogs between each.

2. 400-Metre Repeats
“I use 400-metre repeats to ease a runner into intervals,” Honerkamp says. If you don’t know your 5km or 10km pace, go off effort and build up once you become comfortable.

• Start with an easy 1 to 2km warmup or jog for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Perform 5-10 minutes of dynamic drills.
• Run 8 x 400 metres (about 1/4 mile) with 2 minutes rest in between each interval.
• Finish with a 1 to 2km cooldown run.

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.”

• Start with a 1km warmup, jogging easily.
• Run 8 x 600 metres (1.5 laps of a track) at 5km goal pace, with 200-metre recovery jogs between each interval.
• Run 4 x 200 metres at 1km pace (or slightly faster than 5km pace), with 200-metre recovery jogs between each interval.
• Finish with a 1km 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.”

• Start with a 1 to 2km warmup.
• Do 5-10 minutes of dynamic drills.
• Run 5 x 1,000 metres (2.5 laps of a track) at 5km pace, with 2:30 rest between each interval.
• Finish with a 1 to 2km cool down.

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