Secret to running faster without getting so tired (NOT WHAT YOU THINK)

whether you're new to running or you've been running for years you're probably just like me and most other runners in that you'd like to run faster there isn't a super secret speed workout that'll make you faster overnight but what does work is tried and tested and every single runner can do it maybe you want to run a faster mile set a new 5k personal best or improve your marathon time whatever your goal there are three main systems that need to be trained for you to start running faster and improving your speed these are one your energy systems how your body produces the energy to run number two your neuromuscular system how your brain tells your muscles to work as you run and number three your biomechanics effectively your running form let's go through these one by one starting with energy systems this is where neural runners make the mistake of thinking that they need to run every run as fast as they can to get faster in fact that's what will get you injured and the opposite is actually true it's actually your level of aerobic fitness that dictates how fast of a running pace you can maintain for anything beyond approximately 90 seconds of running your anaerobic energy system can produce energy for shorter more intense bouts of exercise but for anything beyond 90 seconds your aerobic energy system is the key determining factor in how fast you can continue to run that's why fast 800 meter reps are so horrible by the way it's just beyond what your anaerobic system can sustain so how do you train aerobic fitness well it mainly requires lots of easy paced aerobic running slow conversational effort runs in fact if you're getting out of breath on these runs you're going too fast improving your aerobic fitness with these low intensity runs is all about training volume and frequency to run faster you need to dedicate a 16 to 20 week block of aerobic training where you run between 80 and 100 of your weekly mileage in your aerobic training zone during this training block aim to gradually increase your weekly mileage and if it makes sense to do so perhaps add another run into your training week if you're running using a heart rate monitor you'll notice that as the weeks go by you'll gradually start to run at a faster pace for the same heart rate that's when you know that your aerobic training is working eventually with time patience and lots of easy miles you'll be running easy at a pace that would have previously been completely unsustainable now don't get me wrong there is of course an important place for tempo work interval workouts and other types of speed training in your program but these are best saved for a phase when you're preparing for a specific race once you've already taken the time to build your aerobic base that kind of speed work is the icing on the cake not the cake itself then there's the neuromuscular system this is an important part of the puzzle that's often overlooked when runners solely focus on building their aerobic fitness with lots of much needed long slow running you know there's some truth to the saying that long slow runs make long slow runners as i mentioned a moment ago you really do need to put in the miles with lots of easy paced aerobic running to build your aerobic engine but if you don't also tune your engine with some faster running you're building yourself a workhorse not a racing car i've met too many runners who've built a good level of aerobic fitness but then struggle to run well at faster paces simply due to a lack of practice running at those faster paces physiologically it's great to develop aerobic endurance but you also need to train the neuromuscular system the link between the brain and the muscles to develop the leg speed and coordination to run efficiently at faster paces that's where running regular sets of strides in your weekly training schedule becomes really helpful you could even incorporate some low-level plyometrics into your training like jumping rope you don't need to smash your body with lots of speed workouts in fact to avoid injury it's important that you ease right off the speed work while you're in your aerobic base building phase doing regular sets of strides and short bouts of jumping rope each week will help you train your body for the neuromuscular demands of running faster without putting too much extra stress on your system while you're also building your mileage with all the aerobic running if you're wondering strides are simply short acceleration runs of 50 to 80 meters from a jogging pace up to 400 meter interval pace with a focus on accentuating good form so focus on running tall relaxing your shoulders actively using your arms holding your hips high driving your knees and picking your feet up i like to incorporate four to six sets of strides after a warm up or the end of an easy run a couple of times per week the third factor in improving your running speed is your biomechanics your running technique now we're all slightly different and there's no one-size-fits-all perfect running style but there are a few aspects of technique that all runners need to work on if they want to run faster the two factors that determine your running pace are your stride length the distance over ground you cover with each stride and your running cadence how many strides you make per minute so if you want to run faster you need to both increase your stride length and your cadence the easiest way to increase your stride length is to focus on lifting both your heel and your knee just a little bit higher than you would do normally as you run at a given pace the higher carriage of the knee and the foot allow you to cover more ground with each drive where people struggle with this is they don't also increase their cadence and they really overly emphasize this gentle lift of the knee and the foot so they start bounding along with huge slow strides completely unsustainable looking more like a triple jumper that's not what i want to see instead you should also focus on gently increasing your cadence to make slightly quicker strides as you pick your feet up a little bit more than you're used to and drive your knees up and forwards to lengthen your stride it'll feel weird at first but it will help you lengthen your stride and help you run faster one of the best ways to practice this increased knee drive with a higher carriage of the foot is to incorporate hill reps into your training again you don't need to do too many each week and you can add them onto an existing run in your schedule finishing a short easy pace midweek run with six to eight 20 second reps up a moderate hill at around about 5k race pace with lots of recovery in between those reps will help you reinforce this new movement pattern and improve your running technique making your biomechanics more efficient and helping you to run faster with a smoother form when it comes to running technique there are a few other simple things you can do to improve your running style and run faster and i've broken each one of them down in this video linked on screen right now so click on that video and i'll see you over in the next one

Channel: James Dunne

Views: 1,270,124

Keywords: how to run faster, how to run faster without getting tired, running, marathon training, running technique, running form, james dunne, kinetic revolution, kineticrev, run faster, 5k run, improve running speed, improve running form, running tips, running for beginners, proper running form, how to get faster, speed training for, james dunne run faster series

Id: VBWGAFInyjQ

Length: 7min 8sec (428 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 28 2021