WarriorFX

The goal of achieving faster run times should involve training the body as a whole to address several important factors that may be weighing your current efforts down. Overall, implementing variety in your training is important to keep your body improving and your mind fresh, but there are several issues that need to be developed when seeking a faster run time.

Important factors are the Central Nervous System, endurance capacity and muscular development. Your CNS’s ability to handle prolonged exercise and to keep pushing through fatigue, even when energy levels become severely depleted, must be maximized. Endurance must be developed so the body’s musculature can handle the highly oxidative training for increased distances. A focus on endurance training can also instruct the body’s systems to become more efficient at oxygen and nutrient transportation, as well as clearing metabolic byproducts that can cause early fatigue. Strength is also an important factor since nearly the entire body’s muscular systems get recruited to keep you moving.

Here is a three day outline to help you periodize your training for a faster run time:

Day One: Sprints

Sprints have several positive effects on strength and stamina for your speed training. They help to develop the important muscles required to run longer distances using a shorter, anaerobic training method. The short bursts of power training will help deliver some muscular soreness but the actual training effect lies in building up the gluteus maximus, quadriceps, hamstrings and calves. The secondary focus is on the arms, chest, back, and the abdominals. Sprinting helps increase muscle mass and decrease excess body fat.

There are many types of sprints that can be performed to add training variety. You can simply use a predetermined distance to run repeated sprints. You can perform sprints on an uphill to really tax the body’s muscular systems for growth. You could also practice sprinting in-between a light jog to better develop your second-wind toward the end of a race. Once again, variety in training is important to keep you progressing and most of all: interested in your training.

Day Two: Endurance

Endurance running for long distances will help better condition your body for prolonged, repeated exercise. It can also help your perception of effort by setting the bar high so that the distance used in a race seams much easier in comparison. An endurance day should include an easy run at twice the distance you will be timed at on competition day.

Day three: Timed

Taking a day to time your current run speed will help you better understand your current condition and plan for further progress. You can’t know where you are going without charting your progress. Take a day to run your tested distance against the clock to see where your training is taking you, in terms of improvement. You should progressively get faster - perhaps not by an entire minute but by small weekly increments of a few seconds. Over the long haul, small increments lead to big improvements.

If your progress slows down, look at the overall picture. Has your diet or nightly rest patterns been fitness friendly? Are you spending a lot of time in the pubs, smoking or putting other items into your body that may prevent you from performing at your peak? When training for a faster run time, treat your body like an expensive sports car: don’t fill it with sand, fill it will some high octane racing fuel!

Rest is important, especially in the beginning stages of a previously untrained runner. Don’t perform these training days back-to-back but allow some time for recovery so super compensation can be fully realized. Initially, you should not perform these training days any more often than every other day. Advanced athletes may be able to handle a heavier workload. It may be important to see a doctor before beginning a new fitness routine to eliminate any health handicaps or vulnerabilities.