I pretty much follow Jack Daniels running formula. Much of the runs(base,tempo,threshold, speed) are based upon pace or Vdot values determined from races and not so much on heart rate. It's a great book with some good info. Only downside with using pace to determine intensity is it involves running around on a flat surfaces with known distances, read track, which can get a little boring.

I am a firm believer in Yasso 800 workouts. I've seen my best gains in strength and speed from these. You can find a far better description of them than I could provide on Runners World's web site--well worth your time to check it out.

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Ben H

Christian, Husband, Father, Ranger, Triathlete

The simple answer for running faster is to go to the track and blast intervals. I don't recommend doing repeat miles or anything long (You might as well do a hard tempo if that is your goal). Run repeat 400s, 600s and 800s way faster than your race pace. This helps your body adjust to running at speed so your race pace will feel slow to you.

First you need to have a solid base in oder to run fast. If you try to go out and blast intervals doing speed work, and your body is not physiologically ready to handle the stress, you're going to develope injuries. (shin splints, stress fractures burn-out). Trying to make huge gains without having the proper base will be detromental to your overall performance. If you want to get faster, train slow. At least that is what I've learned.

I've been base training at a HR below 180 - age (27) for the last 13 weeks. Since week 1, I have developed an aerobic capacity to run at 6:35 min/miles at or below 153 BPM. When I started, I was only running somewhere to the tune of 8:10 min/miles at the same HR. Mind you, I have not even started speed work.

Once you have an SOLID base, then you should incorporate speed. Also..genetics and your ability to recover will play a huge factor in how fast you get.

best of luck in your training..

Frank Shorter or Seabastian Coe(don't remember which) said the fastest way for them to get faster was go to the track 2x a week for a year and run faster on the track than they could in a race. Bottom Line: Go run fast

There is no one best work out. However, as other posters have pointed out the general advice if you want to run faster in races is to run faster in training. Overall, people training for long-distance running and triathlons tend to do too much LSD( long slow distance).

If there were two work-outs that I would say yield the biggest bang for their buck in running it would be the 20 - 30 min tempo run session ( at slightly slower than 10K race pace) and hill work outs on a 2 - 5 min hill( Run up hill 5 to 10 times at about 5K race pace effort and jog easy back down).

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

The single best way to run faster is to run faster. But, it's also the best way to get injured. My experience has been that a consistent running schedule and running with faster people is the best way to get faster. A good base is paramount, and it doesn't have to be based on long slow distance. LSD can be good for getting your body used to the pounding and the motion of running, but it really only teaches you to run a long time at a slow pace.

Tempo runs and hill runs are sure fire ways to increase speed. Fartleks on the road, trail, or grass are also great ways to develop more leg speed. Track workouts are good, but it's also easy to get injured. My personal favorite workout for getting faster is a hard hill run that lasts about an hour or a 20-30 minute pace run. If you can do either of these with someone who is faster, it'll help even more.

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Brandon Marsh - Website | @BrandonMarshTX | RokaSports | 1stEndurance | ATC Bikeshop |

Matt, all the replies to your question reflect generic answers to running faster, but what we would need to know to help you is more information about your current training. Otherwise there are too many unknowns to answer the question appropriately. For example:

1. Are you currently using a HRM?? If no, do you have a keen sense of pace?? If you don't and you aren't using a HRM you may be running at the same pace for all your training, a sure -fire road to mediocre running performances.

2. Are you talking about running off the bike or open running speed?? There is a huge difference. Most good open runners are not impressed with 3:15 marathons, but that is a fast IM marathon split!! And if you are talking about speed off the bike, the best way to improve is to become more efficent ON the bike (note I didn't say "train more" on the bike). that seems to be a pat answer but it is the way to better run splits.

3. Again, since we don't have much infor, is weight an issue?? Losing 5 lbs can make a large difference in running performance.

4. I have done every type of run training you can imagine,from 200s on the track to running 28-30 mile long runs but I can tell you with confidence that there is almost never a reason for a triathlete to go anywhere near a track and that it is a formula for an injury. Track running does not resemble triathlon running in any way shape or fashion; the training undertaken by Coe, Shorter etc has no bearing on multisport, and I don't think hearing about the training that VanLierde, Reid etc may have done on the track has much relevance to age group athletes. The same is true for hill running: it is a force type workout and should be used in small amounts.

5. Again, having experimented with this a lot, I can tell you that the simplest and most effective and SAFEST way to improve your overall running economy WHILE you are running is by making a committment to doing some faster paced running in every run workout, even if it is only 30 secs of just picking it up and then returning to your regular pace. Add some fartlek sessions. After this has been done with consistency for several weeks, it is time for some tempo sessions. Take your HR up from say 130 to 150 and hold it for 3 minutes, then recover 3 mins, then go again. Build this until you can hold tempo pace for about 1/3 of your total workout time. Next is to move to negative split runs...go on an out and back course and come back faster than you went out.

6. If you want a fast IM marathon, do this session I learned from Benji Durden: do a 3 hour run. Run the first hour easy; the 2nd hour at race pace or faster; the 3rd hour easy. That is what IM is all about: going hard when you are tired. You need lactate tolerance and muscular strength and endurance.

7. Naturally you need a good base before you can expect to improve and it is also essential to prevent injury.

8.Ifyou have more information about your specifics, please repost and we'l see if we can help.

There is one workout I blame for my running breakthrough... (went from an 18:30 5k runner to a 33 minute 10k in 2 years).

I'd get on the treadmill at the gym, set it at something I considered moderatley difficult (started at a 7:00 mile) and then held it for 45 minutes. Over time the pace has come down to the point that the treadmill wasn't fast enough anymore.

It's basically a forced tempo workout, there is no slacking.

I personally think that when people go to the track they do intervals that are far too short. If you're racing 10k and longer then there's no real point to running 400m intervals until you can't walk. Have some balls and run 1 mile intervals or some of the infamous Yasso 800's.

It's the sustained running at close to race speed that is key. Intervals are great. They do have tangible physiological results, but nothing beats running at what your goal race speed is for longer and longer periods of time. Why?

1. You don't get a rest break every couple of minutes in a race!

2. The theory of specificity as it relates to muscle physiology says this.

3. Psychologically it gives you more and more confidence that you can " go the distance"

I have read that the Kenyan's don't do "Intervals" as we know them eg. 8 X 1km with 3 min jog recovery and so on. The core of their training are relentless tempo runs at sub 5:00 min/mile pace. No wonder then that when you see them running along at 4:30 min/mile they seem to be moving along almost effortlessly. Reason: they have spent a reat deal of time running at this pace for extended periods of time.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

there isn't one answer to this. If you're currently doing speedwork (tempo runs and intervals) and not getting faster, then you need more long slow runs. "Slow" means 2 to 3 min/mile slower than 10k pace. If you're not doing any speedwork, and have some background (have been running for a year or more) then start adding some speedwork in, one session a week maximum for the first six weeks. Realize that your body will need to adjust to the speedwork, the older you are the longer the adjustment period..

Personally I only got faster once I started training slower. For many years I went out and ran as fast as I could every day. Eventually I figured out this is counterproductive, started doing lots more long slow stuff, and sped up significantly in races.

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"It is a good feeling for old men who have begun to fear failure, any sort of failure, to set a schedule for exercise and stick to it. If an aging man can run a distance of three miles, for instance, he knows that whatever his other failures may be, he is not completely wasted away." Romain Gary, SI interview

Speed work is good. If I can get in a two in a single day (morning and evening), it produces pretty good stamina and speed. I've also started doing short distance speedwork the day before the race. For ten years, I thought I needed a rest day, but apparently not. However, you do need some longer runs because the body does not like surprises. On those, if I'm feeling good I do intervals at top speed, then slow down to catch my breath but I really try not to stop. Never use racing flats for traning. Train heavy and race light is the best rule for running and cycling. Aside from consistency, my biggest gains have come from losing weight. It's amazing what a difference just five pounds can make.

that no one has mentioned PowerCranks. While the options listed should work, so should PowerCranks, based upon the reports of almost every user. It is another method of improving running that works especially well for the triathlete, without increasing the risk of injury.

Frank "I invented them so you are not misled" Day

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

I agree 100% with Fleck. Personally, the greatest improvements in I experienced in distances from 5K to the Marathon came from hard, sustained efforts. It mimics race conditions like no other type of training.

There's a saying from my track days...show me a man that does drills and I'll show you a man that does drills well. Show me a man that runs short intervals and....you get the point.

That being said. There's a time and place for every type of training. However, there's no single trick. And I firmly believe that if you're pressed for time. Stick to the long, hard effort.

Matt