How to Get Faster (in simple terms)
Most runners are interested in becoming a faster runner. There are countless books, training plans and programs that are geared towards the runner chasing a PR. Yet gaining speed is a bit of a mystery and is no easy task, it takes a lot of effort and hard work, but it can be distilled into two simple concepts: stress and adaptation. It sounds simple, but sometimes "simple" is the best lens when looking at something that seems difficult. Stress: In order for the body to adapt and become faster you must "load" the body with more than it is used to. Stress, in running, can be applied to the body in two different ways: through volume (the amount of miles run) and intensity.
Volume: One of the ways to increase stress on the body is by increasing weekly mileage. Simply increasing weekly mileage will cause physiological changes in your body that will result in increased conditioning (cardiovascular ability) and increased efficiency (biomechanics ability). Those alone will most likely cause an increase in your base speed. When adding weekly mileage there are several guidelines that have been popularly published, such as the 10% rule. This rule states that you should not increase weekly mileage by more than 10% each week, so if you are running 10 miles total per week, then the next week you would run a total of 11 miles. This is an extremely safe way of adding miles and the rule may not even be necessary as suggested by this New York Times article. If you are a beginning runner this is probably a safe way to start. But if you have some experience under your belt then adding weekly mileage is something you can experiment with. Keep in mind that as you experiment with adding volume your body will tell you when to back off, either through fatigue or through injury. It is important to listen to those queues.
Intensity: Another way to "stress" the body is by increasing intensity. This can be done in a number of ways: through speed intervals, tempo runs (and variations of tempo runs such as tempo intervals or steady state runs) or hill repeats. Increasing the intensity of your training by running at a faster pace trains the anaerobic systems of your body and increases your ability to perform when when oxygen is depleted and lactic acid has built up. This type of training moves your lactate threshold (the point at which lactic acid begins to accumulate in the blood stream) so that your body is more efficient at clearing it from the muscle so that you can continue to perform at the high intensity. The intensity at which you have to work to have this happen varies from person to person. A very general guideline for running speed intervals is to run them at or slightly faster than 5K pace. Distances can range every where from 400m (1/4mi) to 1600m (1mi). Tempo runs are usually run at 10K pace. And hill repeats can be run anywhere between 5K and 10K pace, depending on the length of the hill and the incline. Intense workouts can be specific to the distance you are training for.
Rest and Recovery: In order for the body to adapt to the stress there must also be rest and recovery. This comes in the form of recovery or easy days of complete rest and step back weeks. Easy runs and recovery runs are usually run after hard effort days and allow you to maintain volume while resting from intense training. Full rest days are essential and should be part of the training schedule. Step back weeks are another way of letting the body rest, before increasing the load again. Some training plans follow a easy, medium, hard rotation. Where you progress in intensity only to step back after the "hard" week. Recovery also includes dynamic and static stretching and foam rolling in the very least and perhaps a visit to a massage therapist.
Adaptation: Your body will adapt as you systematically place stress on it and allow it to recover; this is what a training plan is. Most training plans are geared around a specific race and are often 16 weeks in length. But it's important to note that when the body adapts quickly to the same kind of stress, often within 21-28 days. So it is important to adjust and change the training around that time to ensure that you continue progress. If you fail to change your training and present your body with new stresses in the form of different workouts or faster paces, you will plateau and simply maintain the fitness you have gained.
Injury: The major threat to every runner wanting to get faster is often injury. Athletes, both professional and novice, walk a fine line when stressing the body: you want just enough to reap maximum benefit but not too much that you become injured. So where is the line? Each athlete is different and often it takes trial and error to find out where your "injury threshold" is. The more I talk to and get treated by physical therapists, chiropractors and massage therapists the more convinced I am that all of my running injuries (plantar fasciitis and low back pain/tightness) have stemmed from imbalance and weakness in my hips/core. I would wager a guess that this is probably true for many other runners as well. Hip strength and core strength (including pelvic floor) are essential for combating injury as you increase load and stress on the body. A strength training program that focuses on these areas is key to getting faster.
During this past training cycle I've seen some of the biggest gains I've ever seen in terms of speed. I've run my fastest track sessions and PR'd in the 5K. Here's a look at my training from a volume perspective.
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I started my spring/early summer training cycle in March and ended with the highest mileage week I've ever run and did so feeling great, no injures, no soreness or fatigue.I gradually increased my weekly volume starting in the spring, I didn't follow the 10% rule as you can see. But I focused on hip and core strength and I did have several "step back" weeks, some planned and some unplanned (rest/recovery). I ran a total of three races over the period of time above: a 5K, Half Marathon and another 5K. The first 5K was 22:25 and my second 5K was 21:15. Each week included a tempo run, a track session of speed intervals and a long run. So there was stress and rest and recovery, allowing my body to adapt and become...faster.
Do you think of your training in these terms? Do you log your training? If you do, how do you use the information?
--Sarah
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