5 Training Tips To Race Faster Without Training Faster
By admin
When people ask me what my favorite road race distance is, I immediately say 5Ks and halves.
What’s yours?
I love halves because while hard, you’re able to find a pace, a rhythm and stick with it (hopefully). It’s just long enough to consider it “pace” training but not too long where your entire body wants to break down near the end.
And I love, LOVE 5Ks because they require speed.
They’re short enough where you can really give it your all. You fight for each fast mile, hoping that you’re able to keep the pace that you started with, though wondering if you started off too fast.
I have ended 5Ks feeling more worn out than if I had run a half. To do well, to see just how fast your legs can go, is exhausting.
Lungs burn, heart pounds, and often you get that “oh man, I kinda want to vomit” feeling as soon as you cross the finish line.
These feelings are all to fresh right now.
I ran my first 5K this past weekend in over 6 months!
Since December (my last 5K), I’ve done a grand total of 2 track workouts. 2. That’s in.
So speed wasn’t exactly something I was focused on with trail runs and the ultra taking precedence in life.
Yet, somehow I was able to run a strong race.
It wasn’t a PR but it was pretty darn close.
Considering that by the 8am start time:
→ The temperature was close to 90-degrees on the runway (I ran a race that was held on the US Air Force’s runway),
→ The humidity felt like a sauna
→ The only water station was around mile 2.1
I’m quite proud of my time.
How was this possible? Most people lose speed when training for distance, how was it that I was able to maintain mine, and maybe even improve?
With such high temperatures, it’s safe to assume that performance was hindered, after all.
Well, it comes down to training. No, I wasn’t doing traditional speed workouts but the workouts I used for trail running, regardless of distance where extremely beneficial for building speed strength as well.
Let’s take a look the training tactics that can help increase speed without working on speed!
How To Run Faster Without Running Faster
Catchy headline, don’t you think?
Can’t really tell, but that baby is set to 30-degrees!
Hill work is incredibly difficult and beneficial for all runners. Just adding a slight incline to a treadmill workout or doing a few hill repeats can:
- Increase muscle activation. Hill workouts stimulate nueurological activity to take place between the brain and the muscles, teaching the muscles to fire more rapidly… helping with your performance.
- Increases a muscle’s endurance to help fight fatigue. This can help a sprint to the finish last just a few more seconds longer… just long enough to sprint past that runner in front of you. ← You know you love when that happens!
- Increase aerobic capacity. Have you ever walked up a flight of stairs? It’s amazing how quickly you can become winded, no matter how great of shape you’re in! Continue practicing, and you’ll realize how overall aerobic output can be. Push harder, but stay in control of your breathing and heart rate. ← To me this is what makes a strong runner. Staying in control!
If you decide to use this tactic, you’ll learn quickly that a hill sprint is nothing like a road sprint. Really, it’s just running up as quickly as you can… which will be much slower than on a flat road.
When I set the treadmill to 30, like above, there is NO running going on. I simply try to climb as long as possible. It works!
A strong sprinter is a strong person. Just look at a sprinter’s body. It’s solid.
Having a strong foundation (ahem… body) means lifting weights to help power your body forward faster.
You want to focus on exercises that recruit fast twitch muscle fibers (the ones used for sprinting). What does that mean?
Doing high reps of exercises such as:
- Deadlifts
- Lunges
- Squats
- Step-Ups
What does high reps mean? Typically it’s anything over 12 reps. Personally, I prefer to aim for 20-25 Reps.
The goal of a runner should be to incorporate at least 2 strength focused workouts in each week.
It’s not only for speed afterall, strength training is a crucial part of a training plan to help keep a balanced body, strong joints and decreases risk of injuries! Do it!
Plyometrics has become a mainstream term in the gym world and I love it. Basically, it’s a fancy way of saying jumping exercises.
- Lunge Jumps
- Squat Jumps
- Burpees
- Box Jumps
When the body prepares to jump, it’s like a rubber band. The muscles pull back, as if pulling a rubber band back to shoot something, then when you let go, it explodes forward. The muscles do the same thing.
Plyometrics is an amazing tool to build strength, stability, and speed. During ultra training, I can’t tell you how many lunge jumps I did. A lot. But I can tell you that my legs have never felt stronger!
It works, people!
The same goes for ballistic movements (which is our #4), which is why I am pairing them together. The overall benefits are similar to plyo training.
What does ballistic mean?
Not quite as mainstream as plyo, so let’s quickly cover it… Ballistic means picking up a weight, lifting it fast repeatedly and letting it go without deceleration.
Many plyo moves are ballistic, however not all ballistic moves are plyo. Make sense?
A few of my favorite examples include:
- Kettlebell Swings
- Kettlebell Snatches
- Kettlebell Sling Shots
That’s what makes the kettlebell so different than other weights, their ability to incorporate ballistic training!
So many runners neglect really big muscle areas during workouts, wanting to stay focused only on the legs that move them.
Big mistake.
The body works as one to power your legs. The faster your arms can pump, the more your core can contract and rotate (obliques) to power your legs faster.
After a hard speed workout, my abs are ALWAYS sore! It’s amazing!
Focus on a tight, strong core and you’ll train your body to have better posture and form for fast running.
A weak core? Leads to a weak runner.
Try doing the following workout 2-3x/week:
- 60 Sec Plank
- 100 Bicycles
- 50 Toe Touches
- 60 Sec Side Plank – Right
- 100 Flutter Kicks
- 50 Leg Raises
- 60 Sec Side Plank – Left
Quick Note
I am not saying that anyone that wants to be fast should neglect speed work. I wish I had been able to focus more on it as running fast before races lets your legs know what that feels like.
However, it’s important to realize that a lot of variables are in play when it comes to being a faster runner. Just running isn’t the only way to go.
Make sense? Let’s go find some speed!