Sample Speed Workout
Short, explosive hill sprints are a great way to have fun with speed work because they are brief and not too difficult.
1. Choose a hill that has a fairly steep grade (5 to 8 percent).
2. Warm up your muscles by running 1 to 2 miles easy or perform the Lunge Matrix.
More: How to Perform the Lunge Matrix
3. Starting at the bottom of the hill, sprint up as fast as you can for 15 seconds.
4. Slowly walk back down, jog very easy for 3 minutes and repeat. Start with 5 repeats and work your way up to 10.
More: 7 Hill Running Workouts That Increase Power
How Speed Work Benefits Runners Who Want to Lose Weight
At an easy pace, running 1 mile burns about 100 calories. However, the faster you run, the more calories you'll burn during that mile. Plus, high-intensity training keeps your metabolism revved even after the workout is over. Research suggests that the afterburn—the number of calories your body burns after your workout, when your metabolism is revved—lasts longer when you run faster.
More: How to Burn Calories Fast With Interval Training Workouts
Sample Speed Workout
Short, fast interval workouts at near maximal effort maximizes calorie burning. Try this workout:
1. Warm up with 1 easy mile of running and some dynamic stretching.
2. Run 400 meters at 90 percent effort. You should be breathing very hard when finished.
More: 5 Minute High Intensity Circuit for Runners
3. Jog slowly for 2 minutes to recover.
4. Repeat 4 to 8 times.
More: Get More Out of High-Intensity Training By Doing Less
How Speed Work Enhances Training Between Races
Speed work helps maintain efficiency by stimulating the central nervous system and activating slow twitch muscle fibers. Reduce injury by gradually introducing speed into your training schedule. Many runners get hurt when they try to run at speeds their muscles, tendons and ligaments aren't ready for, so try easy speed sessions to ease into running faster and prepare those muscles for the harder workouts when you get back to training.
More: 8 Workouts to Improve Your Endurance
Sample Speed Workout
The fartlek workout (a Swedish term for "speed play") is a great way to inject a little speed but still gives you the freedom to run by feel and avoid the mental stress involved with a more structured workout.
1. Warm up with 1 easy mile of running and some dynamic stretching.
More: 7 Running Drills to Warm Up the Right Way
2. Run anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes at a moderately hard pace. You shouldn't be gasping for breath, but it shouldn't be easy either. The actual pace isn't important—it's the fact that you are "turning your legs over" and providing your body with a change of pace.
3. Recover by walking or very slowly jogging for a period that equals the time you ran hard. If you ran 2 minutes hard, recover for 2 minutes.
4. Repeat until you've done 20 to 30 minutes total of fartlek running.
More: 6 Fartlek Workouts for 3 Training Phases
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