How to Run Faster in 30 Days or Less
Runners dream of running faster. We love shiny new PR’s. It’s kinda our thing.
We try to learn how to run faster, but (unfortunately) don’t always train properly…and that’s a bummer, because…injuries. Injuries = sad runners.
Don’t be a sad runner. Learn how to train for speed and how to run faster this month!
First: Know Your Baselines & Pick a Goal Pace
In order to run faster, you need to know how fast (or not-so-fast) you already run right now.
That’s where pace comes in.
Pace, or running pace, is minutes per mile. So if you run 1 mile in 10 minutes, you have a 10 minute pace. If you run 2 miles in 22 minutes, you have an 11 minute pace. Total miles divided by total time equals running pace. Here’s an example of “Avg Pace” from the Runkeeper app:
So how do you figure out your current pace? There are a few different ways:
- Recent 5K Time: 5K’s are one of the most popular distances so it’s likely that you’ve run one recently. Take your pace from the 5K and assume that is your baseline.
- Time Yourself on a Track: You can run a 5K, or warm up and then run a mile (then cool down) and take the 1 mile pace as your current pace.
- Use a Pace Calculator: Maybe you haven’t run a 5K exactly but have run another distance and want to calculate pace off that. The Cool Running Pace Calculator is simple (no frills) – just enter in time and distance and click “calculate pace”. Note: It’s best to figure out your current pace related to the same distance you want to train to run faster for. So if you want to run a 5K faster, take you current 5K pace now. The pace calculate method is a last ditch effort.
As mentioned above, distance plays a big role in running faster. A faster half marathon is different than a faster 5K (pace-wise) and your training would differ too.
So the next step after figuring our your current pace is to choose a desired distance. From there, you can figure out a target pace for the distance you want to run.
Here’s an example, using Mary the Runner:
Mary wants to learn how to run faster. Her current 5K pace is 11:00 (meaning she runs a mile in an average of 11 minutes).
Mary usually runs 3-5 mile runs, so she isn’t a beginner runner. She signed up for a 5K in a few months, and wants to run faster than her current 11 minute pace. She decides to target a 10 minute pace for that upcoming 5K.
So Mary uses Runners World’s Training Pace Calculator to look up her current and target paces. The calculator shows her current and target paces for long runs, easy runs, and speed runs at each pace, so she knows where to start and what to train up to. More on long runs, easy runs and speed runs later.
Mary’s Current Paces (based on an 11 minute 5K pace now):
Mary’s Target Paces (based on a 10:00 minute target 5K pace):
Know & Maintain Proper Running Form
This may seem obvious to some of you, but proper running form is the key many things – including increasing speed, preventing injuries and being a consistent runner.
So what is proper running form?
Running form can be broken down into 4 main areas: Posture, Core Strength, Arm Positioning, and Proper Foot Placement.
Posture:
Shoulders back, head up and facing towards the horizon (not down looking at your feet), with a very slight forward lean.
Core Strength:
Engage your glutes, hips and abs to keep a straight core while running. Do not twist or lean to one side or the other.
Arm Positioning:
Keep arms at a 90 degree angle or less. Do not pump arms, or cross them across your body. Instead use a natural front to back cadence that will control your rhythm. Keep your elbows and arms close to your sides (not out away from your body like wings).
Proper Foot Placement:
Make sure your foot strikes under your body, not in front or behind it. Engage your glutes when landing and spring forward with control. Do not land really hard or loud. Maintain shorter strides.
To increase speed, increase turnover (number of times your feet hit the ground), but do not increase stride length.
Don’t Run Fast Every Run
There are 4 basic types of runs that most runners include in their weekly schedules: a long run, a tempo run, a hill or interval run, and an easy run (or two). The interval run (and tempo, if you’re increasing target pace over time) are the only fast ones.
As you saw above in Mary’s Training Paces Calculator, the easy run and long run are at much slower paces than your normal average (or your target pace). Slower runs are very important in training too.
While it’s very tempting to speed up while on a long run or hill run, don’t do it. Stay within your target pace. Save the speed for the speed runs and your body will thank you by getting faster without over-training.
Interval Training (aka Speed Work)
Interval training – also known as “speed work” – is where your body gets used to increased speeds by repeating bursts of speed followed by periods of rest (aka recovery).
Why is interval training good for runners? Multiple reasons.
- Increases cardio fitness
- Improves running efficiency
- Gets your body used to increased speeds
Some interval training tips:
- If you’r a beginner, make sure to pick a pace for your high-intensity push that you can maintain throughout all the repetitions (meaning don’t start off too fast or hard for your fitness level)
- Try not to exceed 30 seconds of high-intensity at the beginning
- Make the recovery time at least double the high-intensity time, if not more
Interval training will help your body learn how to run faster. A lot of runners experience PR’s after incorporating interval training into their running schedules!
Run Hills
Ah, hills.
A blessing and a curse, all in one.
As much as we may dislike hills, integrating hill work into your training schedule will also teach your body how to run faster. If you want the nitty-gritty details, check out this article, which explains the mechanics and science in depth.
In summary – running hills (correctly) increases force while fostering good form techniques (like raising our knees up higher during stride).
One basic hill workout is: find a hill that is about 1/8 to 1/4 of a mile long, with about a 5-10% grade. Don’t pick a hill that is too steep, or too long. Next, warm up for 10 minutes and then run up the hill, and walk back down to recover. Effort should be high but not 100%. Recovery time should be at least 2-3 minutes so walk slowly down the hill if you’re arriving at the bottom sooner than that. Repeat this 3-5 times and add repeats only as your fitness increases.
Prevent Injuries
Injuries sideline runners all the time. Sometimes injuries just happen by accident, but often they are preventable.
Take extra care to prevent injuries while training to run faster by:
- Following a Training Plan – select a training plan to fit your goals. Don’t over-train, or be tempted to incorporate too many speed work sessions. It will only result in over-training, which opens you up to injury.
- Cross Training Too – Strengthen supporting muscles by sticking to a cross training plan in addition to your running schedule. Specifically – focus on abs, hips, glutes and quads as they are main drivers of running form and weak muscles often result in injuries. Learn more about Cross Training for Runners: The Hidden Secrets You Need to Know.
- Cautiously Increase Mileage or Intensity – Never increase weekly mileage but much more than 10%, and try to evenly and strategically increase your workout intensity without major jumps or your muscles could become overworked or strained by the increase (resulting in injuries).
- Proper Nutrition & Hydration – our bodies need proper nutrition and lots of water to perform well. Learn more nutrition for runners with Runners Food 101: The Ultimate Guide to Nutrition for Runners.
- Looking for ways to drink more water (but hate drinking water)? Try these 5 Hydration Hacks for Runners.
Keep a Running Log
Presumably, you start off learning how to run faster by identifying your current pace (as explained above) and selecting a target pace to train towards.
Now you should track progress against that goal throughout training.
Keeping a running log is like keeping a food diary or regular personal diary, but focused on exercise and your running performance. It allows you to document your journey and learn from it (or tweak your plan if results are better or worse than expected).
A running log doesn’t have to be over-complicated – grab a cheap spiral notebook or create a digital spreadsheet (in Excel or Google Sheets).
Track things like: workout type (run and run type, cross training, etc), target pace for that run, actual pace for that run, how you felt, what shoes or gear you wore, the weather, etc.
So – are you ready to run faster in the next 30 days? Great! Go get your next PR, runner friend!
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