hhow to get faster

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Strength exercises we all need

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If you are a client or follow our blog, you know we love our cross training - yoga, strength classes, spin, and any other fun class that is out that. I've been reminded of how important it is to running this past month. After coming off an injury and doing a ton of physical therapy work, I started running in mid February. I started off slowly - no more than 30 minutes, every other day. I was doing my therapy exercises and feeling good. Somewhere along the way, I started to slack off on the therapy exercises. I can't pinpoint it exactly but I think it was after I ran 6 miles pain free. I thought "I'm better!" And that equated to not having to continue my exercises - WRONG!

I'm still running pain free but after a few weeks of not really doing any strength (yikes - Jessica would scold me), I can feel it - little aches and pains, my legs are too sore after hills. So, I signed up for some strength classes and recommitted to doing my exercises. I do them 2x a week and go to a strength class 1x a week. For now, this is what works with my schedule and life. The results? I feel stronger on the hills and I'm now sore but in the right places!

If you need some ideas, here's what we recommend:

And, for those of you who need some extra motivation, a class is always a great idea. Find an instructor you like and a smaller class so you get the form correction.

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Spring Reboot

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Now that we have longer days, it's time to get back out there for some runs and start training for some summer races. Begin adding in some speed on your weekday runs - your summer racing times will thank you.

Here is an easy plan to begin building up your speed. Always warm up before doing any speed work. We recommend warming up for at least 10 minutes and cooling down for 10 minutes.

Here is a progression:

1) 10x 30 seconds fast with 1 minute reovery

2) 5 x 30 seconds with 1 minute recovery, 5 x 45 seconds with 1 minute recovery

3) Pyramid series: 2 x (30 seconds, 45 seconds, 60 seconds, 60, 45, 30) with equal recovery

4) 10 x 1 minute fast with 30 seconds recovery

5) 5 x 2 minutes fast with 1 minute recovery

The "fast" part of each workout is not a full on sprint. Instead, you want to run about 70% of your max, which is being able to say 1 word every 4-5 breaths. The speed interval should feel challenging but doable. Run the rest of your weekly runs at your normal pace.

If you are training for a race and you want to improve your time, run a 2 mile time test before starting any speed work. This will give you a baseline.