1. This is part 1 of a threepart-series of articles from
ourTuvizo- sponsored athlete Andrew Tunstall. HOW TO EASILY IMPROVE
YOUR RUNNING PART 1: SIMPLE PRINCIPLES OF SPEED WORK FOR ENDURANCE
RUNNING
2. WHAT IS IT? Mostly defined as training significantly faster
than race pace A 21km race is speed work if we are training for the
marathon; or a 5mile club time-trial is speed work if we are
training for a half marathon. I have news for you. A 5mTT, as hard
as you can go, is not speed work. On the other hand, repeating
100yard sprints if you are hoping to bring down your half marathon
time are not going to help you much either they will simply be too
fast. Also, your sprinting technique will be different from your
endurance running style, so there will be very little
neuro-muscular benefit. Not to mention the increased injury risk
posed to you to by the violent efforts involved! The point of Speed
work, for an endurance runner, is to teach the body to run
efficiently and com do. My typical speed sessions involve
repetitions of no more than three minutes at a time, and more often
anywhere between one and two minutes. I then do a number of repeats
but never so many that I start to lose a comfortable rhythm
3. GIVE US AN EXAMPLE! If your goal = to run a half marathon in
1h45. That means 5min/km or 8min/mile. This translates to running a
10k race in about 47 or 48 minutes So speed work for you should be
somewhere between 4:00 and 4:15/k, or about 6:30/mile pace Sounds
fast? Well, not if you only run for a minute then it isnt. Then
give yourself a full two to three minutes to stand around and
stretch before you do it again Once a week for six weeks (yes,
thats all) and you will find your target pace for the 5km feels
like a jog. Work it up to something like 4x2min plus 4x1min repeats
After another 4 weeks can you imagine how easy 5min/kms or
8min/miles will feel once your body is used to the sensation of
4min key pace?
4. WHAT TO DO Measure the course you use or run with a Garmin
Forerunner . Make the repeats longer, or mix them up so long as you
dont get slower through fatigue Jog 15-20 minutes beforehand, and
another 15-20 minutes afterwards, so you warm up and down properly.
Stretch but only after the warm-up jog. Do not stretch cold. Enjoy
the variation in your routine
5. WHATNOTTO DO DO NOT make your rests too short (remember, you
do not want to feel like you have trained hard) DO NOT do too many
repeats (as soon as it starts to feel stiff or awkward, STOP DO NOT
go too fast. If you run too fast, your technique will be wrong, and
inefficient. Remember this is not a sprinting session DO NOT race
against yourself. The target pace is very important DO NOT skip
this weekly discipline (this is the second most important session
you will do, after your weekly long run). Observe consistency DO
NOT do this more than once a week [because it will not make you
fit] DO NOT neglect the other aspects of your training. These
sessions in isolation will not get you that half marathon PR!
6. PARTING WORDS REMEMBER if you do this stressed ie fatigued
you will not get the proper benefit. It is speed work, not strength
endurance work. Think about the golf swing analogy. Nice and
smooth. This article is brought to you by Andrew Tunstall, athlete
sponsored by Tuvizo, a high visibility clothing and reflective
belts company.
7. PARTING WORDS REMEMBER if you do this stressed ie fatigued
you will not get the proper benefit. It is speed work, not strength
endurance work. Think about the golf swing analogy. Nice and
smooth. This article is brought to you by Andrew Tunstall, athlete
sponsored by Tuvizo, a high visibility clothing and reflective
belts company.
