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Beginner Running

Dan K.
Dan K. Sendmail

Building Speed

asked almost 2 years ago | Report

I am not new to running. I am new to training to run, and programs that help to make you a better runner. Recently I have decided to run a marathon. Yes that seems agressive. It may be. But I have to prove something to myself, maybe this is just a midlife crisis. Actually I think that it will awaken inner stength, that I am not sure I have. I know I have some mental strength as I am a survivor of cancer (childhood, Hodgkins Disease). Just celebrated 20 years cancer free. Anyhow, I have run 12 miles as my longest run a few years back, that was not planned, it was a forrest gump moment, so I know that with some support a marathon is attainable. Can someone point me in a good direction for building speed? Also is it better to build endurance first, or speed first, or both? I am thinking probably both. Right now mid 9's are comfortable (bearable). All training will be on a treadmill till it warms up. (Chicago)

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  • Peter L.PRO
    Peter L. Sendmail

    My answer would be to build an endurance base before you worry too much about speed. Get your fitness to a level that you are comfortable with to be able to achieve your goals first, and the speed will come next.

    For speed, simply running 5K's every other weekend is one great approach. I tend to prefer interval training, fartlek runs (just randomly interspersing short burst of faster pace running into a run), and tempo runs - all of these are fantastic for building speed.

    If you run a 5K, you can plug your time into the calculator here and it will tell you the paces at which to run these workouts: http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/trainingcalculator/0,7169,s6-238-277-279-0-0-0-0-0,00.html

    Pete

    answered almost 2 years ago |edited almost 2 years ago |Report

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  • Kevin G.
    Kevin G. Sendmail

    Both, I’m training for my first marathon to, but most marathon training programs I’ve seen suggest doing one speed day each week (High intensity intervals, hills, or sprint drills) a few moderate distance runs and a long (Long being whatever “long” means to you right now) run, incrementally increasing distance until nearly marathon distance shortly before the event. Besides you can’t (OK, maybe some people can, but most of us humans can’t) do long runs every day, so you may as well work on trying to up the speed on the days when you do shorter runs.

    answered almost 2 years ago |Report

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  • Jacob R.
    Jacob R. Sendmail

    I agree with what Peter has said about making sure you have a fitness base first. Whether it be running 1-5 miles just so your body is accustomed to the workload. In all honesty though the best way to build speed and endurance is through interval sprint training to the tune of 1-2min sprinting followed by a long enough rest period so that you feel you can sprint again. An example is sprinting 1 lap on a 400m track then walking a lap for a total of 10 or so sprinting laps, if you can do that. This being said I would do sprint workouts equally as often as long runs.

    Sprint workouts in duration of 1-2 min create a metabolic demand on your body to create more mitochondria in order to adapt to the new workload caused by the sprinting. Mitochondria being the powerhouse create energy, in both sprinting and long distance running. More mitochondria leads to the ability of your body to use energy more efficiently in both these running conditions. I.E. you become faster.

    There are other physiological adaptations that sprint training induces but that is a brief explanation as to why interval training builds both endurance and speed. Good luck!

    answered almost 2 years ago |Report

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  • Lynn G.
    Lynn G. Sendmail

    I agree with others that building a base of a long run that increases in mileage each week is the key component. I am adding two speed days (one tempo run of six to ten miles and another interval workout of three to four miles) per week with an easy run of about six to eight miles to complete my program.
    You are an inspiration. I have no doubt that you will accomplish your goal and do it well. You are probably going to be hooked...:) Nice job.

    answered almost 2 years ago |Report

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  • Gumgirl15
    Gumgirl15 Sendmail

    I am only training for a 5K, but one thing i have noticed that helps build endurance, speed, and strength in your legs is doing the one thing us all runners hate:hills. Gets some routes with lots of hills, short and steep. Long and nearly flat...it all helps. I went out once and did that, when I went out and did the same route, it was easy...

    answered almost 2 years ago |Report

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  • Barry S.
    Barry S. Sendmail

    1) There are a lot of articles to do with "Maximum Aerobic Function" that strongly claim that FIRST you need to build your aerobic endurance ("slow twitch muscle") and then speed will come and THEN you can also build your Anaerobic power ("fast twitch muscle") and start to increase your Lactate Threshold. This seems to be widely agreed for any sort of endurance running. For example, see the following:
    - http://www.running-world.net/want_speed_slow_down_2.php
    - http://www.freedomsrun.org/Training/TrainingAerobic.aspx
    - http://www.endurancefactor.com/Articles/article-heartintro.html
    - http://www.drgangemi.com/athletes/aero
    - http://www.3-fitness.com/tarticles/zones.htm

    2) Here is a quote from one of the articles, discussing "Lactate-Anaerobic Threshold":
    For more than 30 years, exercise physiologists have known that the exercise intensity at which lactate begins to accumulate in a person's blood - that is, their lactate threshold (LT) - is a powerful predictor of their endurance performance ability. This is because although an individual's cardiovascular fitness, i.e., their maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) sets the upper limit to their rate of aerobic energy production, it is their metabolic fitness, i.e., their LT, that determines the percentage or fraction of their VO2max that can they can utilize for any given period of time.

    3) Once you have Aerobic endurance and want to increase your Lactate Threshold and power, there are articles covering adding Tempo and Interval training to your distance/endurance base, such as:
    - http://www.runningonline.com/zine/Training/60.sht
    - http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/aerobic-endurance-training.html
    - http://www.crpusa.com/lactate-threshold-training-for-runners
    - http://pfitzinger.com/marathontraining.shtml
    - http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/fsu/sports/c-xc/auto_pdf/TrainingArticles.pdf

    answered almost 2 years ago |edited almost 2 years ago |Report

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  • Debbie
    Debbie Sendmail

    I would work on distance first. Number one in marathon training is endurance. My track work in marathon training was not really fast but did pick up more as we progressed. Usually we have one long run and one run that is middle distance like 8-12 miles once our long runs are 16 and beyond. I never ran much more then 20 miles. Maybe one close to 21. Number one build your base before you even begin to marathon train. I find marathon training is not about speed.I do a speed development program every winter opposite my 6 month marathon training schedule. it is nice to switch off the fast and move to slow and low pressure running. Congratulations on being cancer free for 20 years. That is a big deal.

    answered almost 2 years ago |Report

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  • Thesean D.
    Thesean D. Sendmail

    FORGET about speed. The Marathon is an endurance event. Focus on aerobic mileage for your first attempt. Finish one and then adjust for time goals. You already have plenty of 'speed' for 26.2 miles... the limiting factor is time on the feet and efficient energy pathways.
    Go out and run.

    answered almost 2 years ago |Report

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  • Nelson P.
    Nelson P. Sendmail

    I personally would say endurance is more important than speed at the earlier stages in training because once you get used to running distance the speed will come along easier. There are many marathon training plans out there but Hal Higdon's plans work from what I've seen friends do for marathons. I am currently using his 5k plan because the marathon doesn't currently interest me and I can say is 5k plan is very well done.

    Here is a link to his Marathon plans, it is upto you to decide if you are novice, intermediate or advance. http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Mar00index.htm

    Best of luck with your training!

    answered almost 2 years ago |Report

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