The Capital 10K is being run on Sunday. It is the largest 10K race in Texas and one of the largest in the United States. For most runners this is more being part of an event then trying to run a time for a 10K. I ran the first 12 races and only tried to run a fast time once. It is almost impossible to get through the pack of runners – and walkers – in front of you. Organizers let the elite runners get a front row start. If you are not an elite runner get back in the crowd and enjoy all the different costumes, groups, and fun runners to be with. All the fun people and runners are in the middle to the end of the pack.
While I mention that it is better to just run for the purpose of being part of the Capital 10K other local races find most runners wanting to run for a time. Some runners may say that they only run for fun and are not concerned with running for an award. Over the years I have learned that even participants that walk the race want to know their time. They all have a personal best time that they have run, or walked. Some of those people in the back may walk the distance of a 5K and hope to break an hour, while fast walkers want to see if they can get under 45 minutes. The lead runners strive for under 20 minutes, and some try to get close to 18 minutes or less. They all have a PR, and while they may not train to get faster, most are trying to be slightly faster than their last race.
When you mention that to get faster a runner needs to do some speed training. The very thought of ‘speed training’ brings visions of hard work. For the average runner that enters for a new T-shirt training does not include ‘speed work.’ This is not necessarily true as there are many forms of speed work that can make a runner faster without having to go through a lung busting workout.
The most common form of speed work usually has the runner doing the workout on a track. Even this running around a track has a lot of options for a beginner, or an elite, runner. A speed workout can have a runner starting out by running fast on the straightaways and walking around the curves. A move up from there has the runner running a half lap fast and walking the next half lap. Working up to a full lap and walking a lap leads to running a lap and walking a half lap. Some elite runners break the running around the track a buildup workout. They set a time to run a lap and then run one lap, walk a half lap, run two laps, walk a lap, run three laps, walk two laps, run a mile, walk a lap and then reverse the sequence back down to running one lap at that set pace. A little variety always makes a workout more fun.
If you are with a group of four runners, a fun workout is to do a ‘leap frog’ or ‘rabbit’ workout. After a lap to warm up the group is in single file and with the track divided into four segments the last runner sprints ahead to the front of the group. At the next segment the new last place runner sprints to the front. This continues on for several laps with each runner getting one burst of speed every lap. The key to this is that after the last runner sprints to the front of the pack it is necessary to back off to the original pace. What usually happens is that the new lead runner continues on a slightly faster pace and by the time a few laps are completed the pace is almost a sprint.
The most well-known training program that runners like to tell beginners, and people that do not run, is the ‘fartlek’ routine. Fartlek is a Swedish term for ‘speed play.’ You run as you feel. There is no set distance or speed. Some runners use various landmarks to run different paces to. Run fast to the end of the block, run half speed to the next tree, a slow jog to the driveway, and a sprint past the bush. The runner sets their own pace and distance according to how they feel. It is always fun to tell a non-runner that you did a ‘fartlek’ workout and watch their expression trying understand what you said.
An easy speed workout is to play like you are in a race and “kick” the last block to the finish. This is a good speed workout because you know when you sprint the last little distance you are done and can relax and walk it off.
One speed workout that I enjoyed was on a football field, or park that had large light poles. You need a series of five poles for this speed workout. You run the first pole at a slow pace, the second pole is a pace you normally run in a training run, the third pole is at a race pace speed, and the fourth pole is a sprint. The fifth pole is a recovery walk. Turn around and do the same sequence back to the starting pole. A few trips back and forth between the poles will find you having a great speed workout.
The best part for runners that do not like the thought of a ‘speed workout’ is that it only has to be done once a week for a little variety in training. It will not be long before you run a PR at the next race that you entered “just for fun,” or for a new T-shirt.
