What is speed-work?

[pseudo_vegan]

I think I might know what it is...where you throw in fast sprints in a jog or something...?

I should have been doing it all along; I know my times would be improving immensely but...alas I'm lazy and sometimes it's enough just to be out running in the first place...

So for experienced runners/those who DO speed-work (like I should :whip: ), how do you do it? And tips/tricks/recommendations for starting out? It's tough b/c I haven't found a free track I can use so I'm usually in parks or on streets...

Thanks in advance.

:nigel: Cheers!

[zoebird]

it's usually interval training to work on speed--right. so you have the basic idea.

a lot of the runners whom i know who do speed work, do it on specific days. So, most days are general endurance days and then there are special speed work days. On speed work days, my maraton friends tend to do a short 5 k warm up and then do intervals of varying lengths. then, they'll do a cool down, probably another 5 k.

you don't need a track to do speed work. once you pick your interval distances, you can do them anywhere, just set out visual markers. In our neighborhood, my husband uses lamp posts. He'll run from the first to the fourth lamp post, then walk to the 6th and then run to the 10th and walk back to the first, and then do it again. so, you can pretty much do it whereever you want.

it's also helpful to do steep hill runs in intervals. we have a steep hill near our gym, so on one of his post work-out runs, he'll do an interval/speed work using this particular hill (or series of hills actually. so it's speed up the hill, run comfortable to the next hill, and so on.

i mostly swim intervals. i think running is no fun unless there's a chase or a ball involved. lol but, i still do it.

[NDvegan85]

usually what I do is do intervals by time since I don't really have a track around. I'll run hard for 2 minutes and then jog for a minute and repeat a bunch of times...or you can change the interval times as you run. It's a really good workout, and I think it's pretty fun. I usually don't stop in between but you could if you wanted. Start at a low ratio of running fast to jogging and then build up and build up your time too...45 minutes is good for me but I run a lot.

[markc7]

I find running intervals pretty tough, but very beneficial. They're the best way to improve your speed at any distance. However, it's easy to do too much speedwork, so be careful if you decide to start.

The kind of speedwork that you're describing (throwing sprints into your regular jog) is called fartlek, which means "speed-play". It's lots of fun, and a great way to improve speed. Tracks are great if you want to do a more structured speedwork, but like zoebird said, you don't need one. As long as you have a reasonably good estimate of the distance between things, you can do intervals anywhere. Some people even do them by time rather than distance.

A good one to start with out be something like 4 x 800m with an interval (rest break) of the same amount of time as you spent running. So if you run 800s in 4:30, take 4:30 to walk or jog slowly before starting fast again. After you've done a couple of these workouts (only one per week!) then try bumping up the number of repeats or decreasing the amount of rest intervals.

Don't do any speedwork the week before or after your race. As a rule of thumb, at the end of a workout you should always feel like you could do one more repeat. If you're completely exhusted after the last one, you've gone too hard.

Any other question, don't hesitate to ask!

[pseudo_vegan]

:confused:

Oh, jeez...I don't know what a 4 x 800m is... four sets of 800 meters? I never ran track in high school...hell, I never even really ran :sealed: ...so...ay.

And I've tried a couple of times to throw in some sprints or whatever...but apparently I wasn't work hard enough if I could have a.) done it more in the session and b.) done it more in the week...

I'm not set out to be an elite athlete (yeah, I WISH), but my current goal is to run my first 5K in 28:00 (go ahead an laugh). I have no idea what my "outside" mile PR is, but on a treadmill (after 30 minutes on the bike), it's an 8:20...tested about two weeks ago or so.

:help:

Thanks for the responses, all.

:nigel: Cheers!

[zoebird]

there's nothing wrong with having goals and finding ways to reach them. once you've done this first race, then think about putting a speed work training day into your weekly routine. start easy.

a 4 x 800 is a long way to me (twice around the track; intervals in between; four times). you could do a 200 which is 1/2 the track as many times as you want. or something like that. or, like we said, without a track at all.

if you know how the distances work and feel--which takes a while--it may be easier to use time instead of using distance. it makes sense, for instance, to run one minute intervals 'full out' and then rest for 2 minutes (jog/walk) and then run for another minute. . .until you do, say 3 or 5 minute intervals. but don't rush it. just work up to it.

[pseudo_vegan]

there's nothing wrong with having goals and finding ways to reach them. once you've done this first race, then think about putting a speed work training day into your weekly routine. start easy.

a 4 x 800 is a long way to me (twice around the track; intervals in between; four times). you could do a 200 which is 1/2 the track as many times as you want. or something like that. or, like we said, without a track at all.

if you know how the distances work and feel--which takes a while--it may be easier to use time instead of using distance. it makes sense, for instance, to run one minute intervals 'full out' and then rest for 2 minutes (jog/walk) and then run for another minute. . .until you do, say 3 or 5 minute intervals. but don't rush it. just work up to it.

:wayne:

Thank you!!

:nigel: Cheers!