Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 56, March 2014 | Page 26

Training

Put Your Foot Down

– BY SEAN FALCONER

W

e all like running fast and breaking PBs, or
having the kick to finish a race in style (and beat that
guy from the neighbouring club who always gives you a
run for your money). And the best way to get faster is by
adding some speedwork to your training programme. Try
to fit in at least one session a week, and if you find one
that you really like, just keep adapting it by adding reps
or increasing the distances as you become faster.
If you’re interested in improving your pure speed – you
want a killer kick – then concentrate on the shorter reps
like the 200s or 400s. If it’s speed endurance you’re
after – you want to run longer distances quickly – then
try the longer intervals. Mix pure speed sessions with
speed-endurance sessions for the best of both worlds.
For these workouts, you need to know your ‘race pace’
for distances from 400m, 800m and 1500m/mile on the
track, up to 5km, 10km and/or the half marathon, so take
your current racing times on the road as a starting point,
and measure your best times on the track, then increase
your race pace as you get stronger and faster.
Just remember, speed sessions aren’t about sprinting
flat-out until you’re sick. They’re about controlling hard
efforts and spreading your energy evenly over a set
distance or time. Also, speed training should not account
for more than 15% of your total mileage per week, so it’s

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ISSUE 56 MARCH 2014 / www.modernathlete.co.za

quicker on each rep. The recovery between each rep
should be 60 seconds. For a longer workout, start with
three laps of the track (1200m) at your 5km race pace,
then step it down to 1000m, 800m, 600m, 400m and
1. FAST/SLOW 200s: Run eight laps of a track
200m, running each interval at a slightly faster pace.
(3200m), alternating fast and slow 200s. The fast 200s
should be hard, but not a full sprint – you’ll soon learn just Don’t worry too much about exact pace – focus on the
how fast (and slow) you need to go. As you get faster, add feeling of running faster with each step-down. Take a
an extra lap until you’re running 12 fast/slow 200s

JK