Ways to Run Faster

If you're not satisfied with your last finishing race time then listen up for a few tips. You probably already know there is not one special bullet, but an accumulation of numerous little things that add up over time. Each distance will have different requirements so lets talk about improving your next 5K.

At one point you'll figure out your best running weight. It's important to get lighter so your not carrying extra pounds over the course of a 5K. On the same token you want plenty of energy so you'll feel in tip top shape to race. Body fat for a runner on an average should run about ten to fifteen percent. Everyone is different, but that's a guide.

Make sure you're able to run long, at least twice the distance you want to race. In other words if 5K is your best distance, long runs should be at least six to seven miles. A 10K would be twelve miles for a long run. Work your way up to your long runs over many months. If you want to be faster you have to train faster. This is how it goes. Your long runs enable you to run faster tempos. Then tempos enable you to run faster repeats.

When you get to where you can run a 7:00 minute pace for a four mile tempo, you're getting to where you can run faster repeats. Once a week go to your local track. Most high schools have a track, free for you to use. You learn to have a love-hate relationship with the track. We run long distance because we don't like track races. Too short! Nonetheless, track repeats are going to improve your race times like you wouldn't believe!

There has been much controversy in how to run repeats. All the book formulas never worked for me. Basically you're introducing your body, to race pace in small segments. You can mix and match the formula until you find the best match that makes you a faster runner on race day. If you burn-out too soon in a race, you'll know its back to the drawing board. Let's say you're a 6:30 race pace runner. Break you repeats into a 1:35. Rest for 1:35. Then do another and another.

Go to the track once a week for six to eight weeks before race day. Each week add more repeats until you can do ten. It's best to add more distance each week as well. Two laps of 1:35, rest 1:35, two laps of 1:35, rest 1:35. All this does is teach you to deal with the discomfort and burden of lactic acid buildup without slowing you down as much as before. Once you have fine-tuned the muscles through repeats, you'll get more use to the feeling. If you'll use these ways to run faster, your next 5K time should surprise you!

Above all make sure you cool down with some stretching after each workout. Yoga is the staple of many great runners. Yoga allows your body to find new muscles down deep that you didn't even know you had! The secret to running is to not get injured. You lose precious days of training, sometimes weeks! A good twenty minute yoga routine of stretching will keep injuries to a minimum in your quest of ways to run faster!

Gary Cooper is an author, publisher and veteran runner with well over one hundred races under his belt. He lives with his wife and a pet named Brandy near Dallas, Texas. Gary continues to enjoy networking with friends and new associates around the globe. Stop by his website for the latest tips on running, training, articles and gear. [cooperpublishing.com] - Skype: gary.cooper471