Run Fast by Hal Higdon

Author:Hal Higdon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rodale
Published: 2016-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

LEARNING TO LOVE SPEED

Does speed training work? Yes, according runners who have embraced this form of training and benefited from it.

“Speed work will make you or break you,” admits Lionel Burnett, 55, an information technology manager and Road Runners Club of America certified coach from Fort Smith, Arkansas. He advises: “Be sure your form is good, and you will reap the rewards. However, speed work with bad form will leave you on the sideline waiting for your body to heal. Yes, I am speaking from experience on both counts.”

Erin Edwards, from Duvail, Washington, admits to having a love/hate relationship with speedwork, saying: “I appreciate that speed training is different enough so that it forces me to think the entire time. I can’t zone out. I need to be completely present. Not so on my weekend long runs.”

In training for her first marathon, Adriana M. Treviño, from San Antonio, Texas, decided to train with a well-respected coach, Edgar Gonzalez of We Run San Antonio. She says, “I did my first speed workout last week at track practice and to my surprise I ran my fastest mile ever. I never knew I could run that fast. I’m looking forward to my next workouts on the track.”

Denise Feinen, from Forestville, New York, used a unique approach while doing speed workouts on a treadmill. “I post a tic-tac-toe sheet on the treadmill and fill in the squares with a smiley face for each 400 completed. I used a novice marathon schedule with no speed workouts for my first marathon, then afterward used speedwork to get me back to my usual cadence and rhythm.”

Hope Kirsch, from Casco, Michigan, describes using “a speedwork buddy” for her faster workouts: “It sometimes helps to race others of near ability. However, speedwork on my own has been very productive and I love it either way.”

“Definitely not my favorite, and I’m not that fast,” says Nancy Lehr, from Lawton, Oklahoma. That seems like a backhanded endorsement, but she adds, “I try to get some kind of speed workout in at least every other week. Realizing you can push yourself a little harder is a big confidence booster.”

Larissa Martin Ralph, from Seattle, Washington, admits getting a “massive runner’s high” from sprinting up hills, even though she does not always enjoy it. “Those sprints may be a killer, but I am in total bliss afterwards, knowing that they will help me reach my race goals.”

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