Whether your a beginner or veteran runner, I think it’s always appropriate to learn more about various training methods, especially strategies to help you become a faster runner. There’s no 1 right way to achieve your goals. There may be some training tips to help improve speed. Be aware that some strategies are more suited for more experienced or faster runners, than beginners. How do we know which strategies to get faster are appropriate and how to implement them? That’s where a good coach comes in. A certified coach can help us determine what’s best for our goals, based on our current abilities.
In the following 6 minute video, you’ll get some tips that you can actually start implementing today.
The first tip to steadily increase your mileage will work, but I caution inexperienced runners to make these increases slowly. They briefly discuss the 10% rule. I’m a big fan of this rule, but I wanted to expand on it because it’s only referred to in the video and not explained.
Limit weekly mileage increases to no more than 10%. It’s because the principal of too much, too fast almost always results in overuse injuries. 2-3 mile increases per week may not seem like a lot, but trust me, marathon training is not completed in 6-8 weeks. Effective plans should be undertaken only after you’ve built a base/foundation of steady 25-35 mile weeks. Building a base is a topic for another post. If you’re start your marathon training at 30 miles per week, it won’t take long until your consistently running in the mid 40s+ every week.
Another tip discussed is the tempo run. I’m a big believer in this type of training to build speed & endurance. I like the way the video gives some sample tempo workouts that effectively slowly acclimate runners into this type of training. If you’re training for a marathon, then Tempo pace can be around 1/2 marathon pace or slightly faster.
Other workouts to help you get faster are discussed in the following video.
