How to Run Faster in 5 Weeks
Are you constantly searching for ways to run faster and take your running game to the next level? With just five weeks of dedicated training and a bit of hard work, you can become a faster runner!
Discover the secrets behind optimizing every stride, the workouts that power through plateaus, and everything else you need to know about increasing your running speed.
How to Run Faster
Understanding the Basics of Speed Training
Power = Force x Velocity
In running, this translates to the force generated during each stride and how quickly it’s applied to achieve forward motion. To get faster, you need to increase strength and endurance.
Speed Training Fundamentals
Simple running tips to run a faster mile include interval training, focusing on your running form, and gradually increasing your pace. It’s not about overnight results but consistent progress.
Note – without proper running form, it will be difficult to maximize your running speed.
A good running watch is a great investment for improvement in running (See Heart Rate Training for Runners).
Essential Workouts for Speed Improvement
As you delve deeper into improving your speed training, it’s crucial to grasp four key techniques: interval workouts and fartlek workouts. Incorporate speed workouts into your running workout routine and overall training program.
These are your core workouts to running faster.
Interval Workouts
Interval workouts are crucial in improving your overall speed and endurance, and they’re a key component of speed training. They’re an effective way to improve your mile time. Interval training is where you increase your running pace for a set number of minutes for several set intervals.
The pace should be hard (you’ll be struggling for air), then run slowly to recover in between intervals. Consider these your core speed workouts. Interval training improves your body’s pain threshold when running harder.
Many people choose to perform these on a local running track for the controlled environment it offers.
Here’s a simple table to guide you:
| Week | Interval Workout Example |
|---|---|
| 1 | 30 sec fast, 1 min slower pace |
| 2 | 1 min fast, 2 min slower pace |
| 3 | 2 min fast, 1 min slower pace |
| 4 | 30 sec fast, 30 sec slower pace |
| 5 | 1 min fast, 30 sec slower pace |
| NOTE | “Fast” means slightly above your target running pace (not an all-out sprint). |
Consider doing up to 10 of these in a workout depending on the distance you’re training for.
Fartlek Workouts
Fartlek (Swedish for “speed play”) workouts are similar to interval workouts. They are fairly unstructured runs that involve harder efforts for a time period, followed by a slower running period to recover.
Their difference to interval workouts is that with fartleks you randomly mix faster running with your normal pace during the entire run workout. This is another speed workout but think of it as more of a cross-country race.
You’ll run harder until you reach the tree, then you run a bit slower to recover, then another hard section, and so on. It’s less structured than intervals and you keep running the whole time.
I’d also say “speed play” workouts are slightly less intense than intervals, but this is up to the individual. You want to up the pace, but also not struggle for air the whole time. It’s like a temporary acceleration.