Increasing Running Times

monthehoops

Just wondering how you people work on imporving your running times. Is it just a case of keep hitting the roads and you get faster or do some of you use heart rate monitors etc?

Also, how do you use the heart rate monitor and mesure your optimum heart rate. Is it worth using this method of training?

ecoli

monthehoops wrote: »

Just wondering how you people work on imporving your running times. Is it just a case of keep hitting the roads and you get faster or do some of you use heart rate monitors etc?

Also, how do you use the heart rate monitor and mesure your optimum heart rate. Is it worth using this method of training?

what kinda of distance are you trying to improve your times on?

Here are a few different components which are use in many training plans

Fartlek
Basically this is including short burst of fast paced running in the middle of your easy run. People often see a lamp post or other landmark in the distance and choose that as the finish line. Rather than stopping at this however they revert back to your easy running. The fast paced segments of this should only account for a small percentage of the overall running for example running 1 min hard followed by 2 min easy etc. Again this is unstructured so you can go for as long or as little as you want.

Hills

Running hills can develop certain leg muscles which give you more explosive power (or raw speed) and can help your running form. The idea of this is that you become more efficient in your running so that you expend less energy during running allowing you maintain paces for a longer time. Again this alone wont make you a better runner but it compliments your easy running

Intervals

These are often referred to as speed work which is a misconception. these are similar to Fartlek only more structured with set running distance/ time and usually set recovery. Depending on the dynamics of the interval session these can be used to develop form or the anaerobic training system. By training the anaerobic system it allows the body to maintain pace at higher speeds for a given time. these should only be done to complement a built up aerobic base (easy running over a duration of time) and can increase risk of injury as they are taxing on the body but can provide major benefits if done properly. Examples of interval sessions can include classic ones such as 8x400m with equal recovery etc

Easy running

Your basic bread and butter which should make up more than half your weekly training. This builds your aerobic base allowing you to achieve the distances and should not be ignored. This is where you gain alot of your strength from.

Drills

These are exercises such as kick backs high knee lifts etc. These can be used to develop form and power which can have major benefits for any runner. These can be done before training when the body is not tired to allow correct form in order to make a runner more efficient

Tempo
This is hands-down the least complicated variety of speedwork. All you have to do is run faster than your usual training pace, somewhere right around your 10K race pace - Half Marathon pace. Unlike most speedwork which consists of relatively short bursts of high effort, tempo runs call for a single sustained effort. The result is that your body learns race economy: running at a fast pace for relatively long periods of time. Tempo runs will give your articles speed a boost, too. By running nearly at race pace, your body becomes accustomed to running close to its upper limit (though not exceeding it). In doing so, you actually increase that upper limit, and you become gradually faster. This can also be referred to by many as Lactate Threshold training. It can be carried out from anything to 15-20 min up to an hour depending on fitness strength etc

LSR

This is where you get your stamina from. Once a week you should lengthen your run by more than 50% roughly of your normal weekly runs so for example if you run 5 miles on your easy days maybe try possibly 8-10 miles on your LSR. This does not have to be fast and for most people is done a good bit slower than their normal pace

Hope this helps give you a bit more of an understanding about some of the fundamentals of distance running

If this is a bit to heavy for you there are many training plans for the various distances readily available on the internet that can be used as a guide

monthehoops

Nigh swan, thanks.