Monday, September 14, 2020

Speedwork...Anyone?


Confession...I never had much of a need for speed.

Although I've been a runner for the past 15 years, speedwork only made an appearance in recent years. In all honesty, it still isn't much of a priority.

Although it is exciting to set new PR's, I have never based my love of running on how fast I could go. Frankly, I'm kind of a klutzy and awkward athlete. Running fast does not come easy for me, nor do I look especially graceful or svelte in attempting to do so.

Besides, I'm more of an endurance junkie...I'd rather test my limits on distance than speed. That said, I still enjoy a speed-training session from time to time. It breaks up the monotony, and it challenges the body and mind. And, it gets me out of my comfort zone.

Here are a few of my favorite speed workouts:

Hill repeats. These can be done on pavement or on a grassy hill. The extra effort it takes to lift your feet for each stride mimics the extra "lift" you will need for faster running (or faster turnover). In doing hill repeats, make sure you allow for a decent recovery period between each of the "uphills" as you work your way back down the hill. The number of repeats I do depends on the hill. There's a hill on a street by my house, and often times I'll run "up" the distance of a city block (about 1/10 of a mile), than jog easily back down. Doing these for 10 sets will net me about two miles in cumulative distance (including the recovery jogs).


Downhills. Don't let the "downhill" fool you, these are tougher than they sound. Your quads will take a beating from the extra impact of running with gravity, and your recovery will be going back UP that hill (only to repeat the process over and over). You probably don't need to do downhill sprints very often unless you're training for an actual downhill event, but I like doing them once in awhile just for variety's sake. 

The stairway. We've all heard the saying that hills are speed work in disguise, right? Well, running a stairway is like running a really steep hill. You don't necessarily have to sprint the stairs to feel a good burn, either. Not only will stair training enhance your speed, it will also work all of your leg muscles in one way or another as you fight gravity (both going up the stairs and coming back down).


Intervals. Intervals are probably the most versatile option out there, at least in my opinion. My favorite place to do these is on a length of sidewalk on the nearby college campus. This particular sidewalk spans the distance of two city blocks, but does not have an intersection to cross. I either sprint half the distance, then use the remainder for recovery (then turn around, and repeat in the opposite direction), or I'll sprint the entire length one way, and then "recover" as I turn and head back. I typically do these workouts early in the morning, so there are no pedestrians to worry about. This sidewalk is about a half-mile from my house, so I usually do an easy warm-up run there, and a cool-down jog back home.   

FartleksThese are probably my second favorite form of speedwork (next to stair work) because they can be done pretty much anywhere you run. Similar to intervals, you alternate a comfortable running pace with surges of speed. I usually use the distance between light poles or city blocks as my "interval(s)."


The trackFinally, there's always the track as an option. This is my least favorite (of these "favorite" choices) because it's not the most scenic or stimulating for me. Seriously, you're basically running in circles, how fun can that be? My answer is to make it less regimented by doing different distances each time I hit the track. Varying the distances (200, 400, 600, 800, etc.) will also allow you to vary your speed because the shorter distances will (usually) have you running faster. Depending on the time of day, I may have the track all to myself, in which case I'll run my recovery intervals in the opposite direction (clockwise) from which I've done the speed running (counter-clockwise).

Keep in mind, there are numerous other forms of speedwork, but these are the main ones I prefer. As much as I sometimes dread speedwork, I find that I'm more likely to actually do it if it's one of these preferred variations (did you notice I didn't mention the treadmill? LOL).


How often do you incorporate speed-training into your regimen? Do you do it only while training for a particular race or event? What's your favorite speed workout? 

**Disclaimer** Some of the text from this first appeared in a previous post What About Speedwork?

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22 comments:

  1. My least favourite speed work is the track, too! But I live right next to one so I really have no excuse. They are convenient because all the distances are nicely measured out.

    Haha, I don't look particulary graceful, either. But I always remind myself of Paula Radcliffe... she looked klutzy but won several marathons!

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    1. The college track is very close by, so I have no excuses either. Although, it is kind of secluded (off the road, beyond the football field), so I'm not too excited about being there alone in the early hours.

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  2. I try to do speed work 2x a week, but that's because getting faster is pretty much my #1 running goal. I use a park with a flat walking trail that's about a mile away from home. But honestly I think that just throwing in a casual 1 minute fast/1 minute slow has had the most benefit for me.

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    1. I think simply doing anything faster than what one usually runs is beneficial, regardless if there's a rhyme or reason to it. Before my marathon got cancelled, I was pretty consistent doing HIIT or speedwork each week, but that tanked when the race was deferred. And, now my poor healing foot will not see anything like that for a few months. But, all is well ;-)

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  3. I enjoy speedwork. My most common form is intervals on the track. I get more excited for a track day than a long run day. That said, I am not doing any speedwork at all right now. I think when I run with Hubby, we tend to give each other permission to run "easy" but that's OK. We are not training for any races and easy running is enjoyable.

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    1. I don't know why I'm kind of adverse to track workouts...maybe because they're so regimented. I think more people like them than not (so, again, I'm one of the rebels LOL).

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  4. I am not one for speed work either. I actually think I dislike downhill more than hill sprints. For some reason the downhill always seems harder to do - and it kills my knees.

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    1. Crazy as it sounds, the downhills are a little freaky. I'm not super fast, but running "fast" downhill has the makings of kinds of clumsy possibilities.

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  5. Love downhills. LOVE dowhnills! My best PRs have been downhill races -- but I do train for them (as best I can, even with all your hills, we don't have miles of them at a time, LOL).

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    1. I don't think I've ever done a "downhill" race course. I have done a few races that are overall downhill, but not exclusively.

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  6. I think my favorite is fartleks. I do those even when I'm not training for anything. I runfess I avoid hills even though I know I should do them!

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    1. Fartleks are fun, and can be done pretty much anytime/anywhere on a run.

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  7. honestly, not really into speed work myself. I am so injury prone that speed work is not in my plans usually. We have lots of hills so those are always built into our regular runs.

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    1. I hear ya on the hills (though your hills are a bit more intense than mine). I've gotten to the point where I don't mind speedwork, and actually look forward to it once in awhile.

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  8. Fartleks are my preferred type of speedwork. I am such a slow-twitch distance runner that track work has never appealed to me - definitely is not my strong suit!

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    1. The track doesn't appeal to me much either. I don't like the constant circles...much like I detest the running-in-place aspect of the treadmill. That said, I know a lot of people love the track (and some love the treadmill, too LOL).

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  9. I love interval training for the reason you said, the fact that it's so versatile and fartleks are so much fun too! I always dread speedwork (or even avoid it) but it has made me a stronger runner AND I loved how I feel after the workout too.

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  10. I incorporate run/walk intervals into my long runs, but I don't do formal speed work. I spent most of this year working on getting my endurance back!

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  11. I don't think I can ever use the stairs for speedwork again LOL!

    So we are super limited - things here are very flat, and the only hills we have are the bridges over our intercoastal waterways. We also don't have access to the local tracks here. All our campuses are closed, and the public is not permitted. I love that you have a city block you can use.

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  12. I haven't done much speed work this summer simply because it's been too hot. During cooler times I like to spend one day a week with some kind of faster running. Depending on what I'm training for, it might be hill workouts, tempo workouts (my favorites), or some kind of interval work. I haven't been to the track in years but when I want to do some kind of faster intervals I'll do them on the road.

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  13. Right now I'm not focusing on speed at all, just getting back to running and staying healthy. When I'm in a training cycle, I prefer to do hills in the early part of the cycle and track repeats during the second half. I used to love 800 repeats, but these days I'm partial to mile repeats. Crazy, I know!

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  14. I do speedwork once a week. I think some weeks it has been twice too.

    I've never done downhill repeats but those are hard. I did a race in Utah and it was all downhill. I mean the actual race wasn't too bad but when I was done but quads were hurting so much. It took me a few days to recover.

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