Happy Wednesday! We have made it half way through the week! Yay!
Today I want to talk about getting faster! I have a goal this year to PR my marathon time. Here are a few of my tips that are helping me work towards that goal.
I would not consider myself to be a “speedy” runner but I’m not the slowest so I think I’m pretty average? I have been working on getting faster but only doing as much as my body wants too.
Here are my 6 tips to get faster and preventing injury while training.
6 Tips to Run Faster
1. Start from where you are and not where you want to be- Building a base is important! You can only go as fast as your body is actually ready to go. You could push yourself at the beginning but you run the risk of getting injured.
You are running off of your base training that can take months, even years to get where you want to be.
Be patient. Be consistent. Be smart.
2. Make gradual change. Along with speed you need to build your mileage slowly. If you haven’t run much in the last 6 months it probably isn’t too smart to run 13 miles your first day back on the asphalt.
For me, I train differently because it is just what works for me. Some people like to do 4-5 20+ milers before a marathon. For my first marathon I trained for it. EVERY. SINGLE training run. I think I had and 18, 21, & 23 long runs that I did and I ended up burned out and a nagging hip injury when I got to the starting line. It was terrible. The next marathon I built up and did only 16 miles as my longest run and ended up feeling great and ready at the starting line.
Sure, it feels better mentally to get a few LONG runs under your belt, but physically your leaving your best miles out on the training road.
3. Quality trumps Quantity- To progress change one thing at a time. For example, your long runs should be done at an “Easy” effort, but if you head out and do a 20 miler at race pace after a 17 miler “easy effort.” You changed two things- pace & increase of mileage. I recommend avoiding that type of training. Chances are your pushing yourself to the edge a bit.
Instead try putting in three to four race pace simulation workouts and cut back the distance. That way you can train at marathon effort, practice your race day pacing strategy, and recover, because the mileage is shorter and of greater quality.
4. Turn off your garmin- I know this one sounds crazy! But this time around I have been leaving my garmin at home and I feel good about it. Let me tell you why.
Your body doesn’t know time. It knows EFFORT. Whenever I wear my garmin on my long runs, I feel like I’m glancing down at my pace too much and pushing myself faster just too hit “that pace.” I’d burn myself out for the rest of my week. I pay much more attention now to my effort. I hold a pace that is comfortable for me that day. As a mom/fitness instructor I have good days and I have days where my legs are just tired from teaching or cross training. I schedule my runs around how I am feeling that day. Ill even skip a day if I’m feeling super sluggish. Your not doing yourself any favors by MAKING it do something it doesn’t feel up to that day.
5. Don’t run every. single. day- CROSS TRAIN! Swim, Bike, circuit train with weights/body weight movements. You become a stronger runner through cross training. Believe me on this one. I run 3-4 times a week, because that works best for me. I love running but running every day is rough on my body. Your muscles are pretty dang important to protect your bones, ligaments, and tendons from the constant beating that running puts on you.
6. Practice with your fuel you use on race day. This tip doesn’t necessarily help you get faster.. but it can affect you on race day. Stomach problems=bad race times usually.. practice eating, drinking, GU ‘in as you will be during your race!
Get out there now.
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