Looking For Speed?

From Running Times…

Speed Development

How and why to improve your real speed

By Jay Johnson

As featured in the May 2010 issue of Running Times Magazine

There's speed work, and then there's speed work. When most runners talk about doing speed work, they mean things like mile repeats at 10K race pace, or a set of fast 200s, or maybe even a 5-mile tempo run. Such workouts, of course, are integral to becoming a faster runner. But they're not really speed work, if by "speed" we mean the fastest you can run for a very short distance. When I talk about speed, I mean your maximal velocity -- your top speed -- which even world-class sprinters can sustain for no more than 30-40m.

But here's the thing: This type of speed is also integral to being the best distance runner you can be. Improve your basic speed, and you'll run faster in all your races, even the marathon. That's why all the runners I coach, such as 2010 national indoor 3K champion Renee Metivier Baillie and 1:02 half marathoner Brent Vaughn, do regular speed-development workouts. To understand why, let's start by looking more closely at what speed is and isn't.

Read on here.