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Runners World Articles: Archives Take Your Pick - Four winning workouts from my training log Bored with the same old speed sessions? The following variations are guaranteed to spice up your training and leave you running stronger and smoother. Taken together, they'll help you develop strength, speed, and stamina. Be sure to warm up thoroughly before you start these workouts, and increase intensity and duration gradually. Uphills (for strength): I ran hills for the first month of my high school racing seasons because my coach told me to. By my senior year, I realized most of my best performances had occurred during the first part of each season. Playing a hunch, I continued hill training throughout my senior year - and enjoyed my best season ever. As I later prepared for the Olympics, I returned to the hills, and still feel that I benefited more from them than from my track sessions. What to do: Choose a hill that's moderate enough that you can run strong over the top. The slope shouldn't be so long or steep that it wipes you out. A hill 100 to 200 meters long works well. After warming up, start with two to three hill repeats. Walk back down for recovery. Work your way up to six to eight repeats. To build endurance, run a longer hill (300 to 600 meters). Start each very slowly and build your pace as you move up and over the hill. Downhills (for speed): Runners have long used downhill running to improve speed, but it's risky to go too fast. Even slight flaws in your foot placement or leg mechanics can result in aches, pains, or injuries. So stay smooth and in control. My favorite use of downhill running is after a fairly hard speed workout on the track or road. Running down a slight grade will help you maintain a fast pace when you're tired. What to do: Pick a gentle hill, and run only two short repeats the first day. Ease into a quick downhill pace, then jog or walk back uphill. Add one or two repeats to each workout until you're running six to eight short ones (100 to 500 meters), or two to three long ones (600 to 1000 meters). Keep your stride normal and your feet close to the ground, and slow down at the first sign that your form is faltering. Negative-split workout (for strong finishes): By starting a little slowly in your key speed workouts and speeding up during the last couple of repeats, you'll learn to do the same in a race. It's never a good idea to finish a workout running all-out, so pace yourself accordingly. What to do: If you're running a 10 x 400-meter workout, for example, run the first three or four repeats 1 to 2 seconds per lap slower than your goal workout pace, the middle three repeats at goal pace, the middle three repeats at goal pace, and the final repeats 1 to 2 seconds faster. "Hang-on" workout (for stamina): One summer during my competitive years, I trained with various running clubs throughout Europe. They all ran the middle of their speed repetitions hard. Let's say the group was running segments of about 1000 meters. After an easy 100 meters, the leader would assume race pace for about 300 meters, further increase the pace for 300 meters, and return to race pace for 300 meters. That final segment helps you maintain pace when you're tired. What to do: If you're new to speed sessions, run repeats of 400 meters. If you've run some speedwork, your distance could be 400 to 800 meters. Experienced speed trainers could do repeats of 800 to 1600 meters. Run these distances in thirds: the first and final third at about race pace, the middle third a bit faster. Recover fully between repeats.
From Runner's World, November 2000, p. 40
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