How to Run Faster

You run and run and run

But it never seems to feel easier running faster than your normal pace.

You’re always at X:XX min/mile and that’s just where you always land

You keep running the same route thinking that as you run more, you’ll run faster

But that’s not how that works.

It’s hard to improve your pace by running the long distance faster 
It’s easier to improve your pace by running the short distance faster

How do you do that?

Interval Training

Interval training comes in many different shapes and sizes. Some are fast steady efforts, some are very fast efforts, and some are all out sprints

But all interval workouts are just that: intervals

Short times and/or distances where you are running faster than your X:XX min/mile pace

You practice running faster over and over and over again with intervals

There are so many different ways to train intervals:
The Evanston Running Club has track workouts on Wednesdays in the morning and evening
Stride Fitness in Wilmette has great interval workouts I love
Orange Theory Fitness has them
or
you can make your own!

1. Simply choose an interval of either time or distance (i.e. 1 minute or 1 lap on a track)
2. Choose your intensity (i.e. Heart rate zone or just how ‘hard’ you’ll go)
3. Set the number of rounds you’ll do

Have at it.

After a few weeks of interval training, running at X:XX feels a little….slow

So you pick up the pace 🙂

Pro Tip: Avoid doing interval workouts on back-to-back days. They are intense workouts and you can easily overdo it if you don’t let your body recover