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Training to Run Faster

Posted February 11, 2008 at 04:30 PM by Megan Hueter

Section: His Fitness, Cardio Training, His Health, Physical Health

man running If you don’t run very fast in practice, you won’t be able to run very fast in races. The following article is written by Dr. Gabe Mirkin, MD, who explains that jogging will decrease your chances for injury, but will not improve your run time.

At the University of Copenhagen, Danish scientists studied experienced runners who had been running 60 miles a week at a fast pace. One group was told to cut their mileage in half to only 30 miles a week, but to run a series of around 50 to 100 yard dashes as fast as they could. The other group continued running 60 miles a week at a fast pace. Runners who ran fewer miles at a faster pace had a 7 percent improvement in their body’s maximal ability to take in and use oxygen.

Runners who did not increase their speed in practice did not improve, even though they ran twice as many miles. Jogging slowly reduces your chance of injury, but it won’t help you to run fast. You can race only as fast as you run in practice, but don’t try to run fast every day. Intense exercise damages muscles. Try to run fast once or twice a week, never on consecutive days and don’t run fast when your legs feel heavy or hurt.

When I trained seriously for marathon running, I thought that the runner who ran the most miles would be the best. I didn’t become a great runner, but I did become an expert on injuries. My patients seldom come to me with a running injury that I haven’t had.

Many top runners run more than 100 miles a week because their bodies have the genetic ability to withstand such abuse, but the vast majority of runners will never be able to run 100 miles a week without being injured frequently. Furthermore, running a lot of miles slowly will slow you in races. The ability to run fast in races depends more on how fast you run in practice than on how many miles you run each week. However, every time you run fast, your muscles are damaged and feel sore on the next day, and it takes at least 48 hours for your muscles to heal enough to allow you to run comfortably again at a very-fast pace. After every workout in which you run very fast, take the next day off or run at a much slower pace. Most top athletes plan their workouts so they run very fast only two days a week. The same principles apply to any endurance sport.

Twelfth European Track Coaches Congress Acoteias, Portugal pp10-16. RRN January, 1991

This post is written by Dr. Gabe Mirkin, MD and used with permission. Dr. Mirkin is board certified in Sports Medicine and has practiced for over 40 years. He has completed more than 40 marathons and was a talk show host of a nationally-syndicated radio program for about 25 years. For more articles by Dr. Mirkin, please check out www.drmirkin.com

Research sources and for more information: [picture]

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Tags: cardio, endurance, fast pace, fitness, health, improving run times, jogging, men, miles, pace, pavement, running, scientists, slow pace, stamina, university of copenhagen

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33 Responses to “Training to Run Faster” (Leave a reply)

Date from USA said:

Interesting, “every time you run fast, your muscles are damaged” is new information for me.
June 26, 2008 at 02:45 AM
Dan said:

While it is true that running faster for a lower amount of time helps a lot, this is what athletes do when they want to ‘peak,’ or reach their height of fitness before an event. A runner cannot run fast day in and day out,as the article mentioned, and it stated that elite athletes do a few speed sessions a week. However between seasons or ‘A’ races there needs to be a transition and base phase where little or no speed running other than tempo work is done to increase purely cardiovascular fitness and endurance. If done properly, an athlete will not be injured or overworked.
June 27, 2008 at 12:15 PM
link building services said:

It has no logic… I thought that running would help not damage your muscles… I dunno what to say about it.
July 2, 2008 at 09:34 PM
glyconutrients said:

Thanks for this article. I never knew that running could have so many effects.!
September 3, 2008 at 09:46 AM
Cheap Tramadol said:

Great stuff.. Thanks a ton for sharing this. Much appreciated!
September 3, 2008 at 03:03 PM
Iveco from UK said:

So on the rest day between running what is it that’s recommended to do? Upper body and stomachs weight training or something like rowing, which although uses legs does bring in a great deal of upper body and is good for both strength and stamina.
November 14, 2008 at 12:35 PM
Submit Comfort said:

A runner cannot run fast day in and day out,as the article mentioned, and it stated that elite athletes do a few speed sessions a week. However between seasons or ‘A’ races there needs to be a transition and base phase where little or no speed running other than tempo work is done to increase purely cardiovascular fitness and endurance.
November 29, 2008 at 02:29 AM
seo services said:

I think if you want to run faster then practice is more important then training.
December 20, 2008 at 11:15 AM
scottsdale cosmetic dentistry from around said:

When you are running, try not to think of the length of the track, keep your eyes in a section of the track and run toward it. When you reached that point, set your eyes further ahead and make another finishing point.
December 22, 2008 at 10:12 AM
Hawaiian noni juice said:

The article have some new information for me. Thanks mate.
February 12, 2009 at 03:24 PM
freelife said:

Nice articles for joggers and athletes.well lots of points are there in this post which one should consider for their daily habit of running.
February 17, 2009 at 03:04 AM
Goji Juice Goodness Int'l from Daleville, VA, USA said:

Wow, that’s a lot of information!
March 25, 2009 at 03:49 PM
rome apartment from Italy said:

Hi, I am an Italian runner, and I am totally agree with you
April 20, 2009 at 12:31 PM
Lightweight backpacking from London said:

Great advice. I’ve just applied for the 2010 London marathon, so will need all the help I can get!
April 27, 2009 at 07:48 AM
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May 19, 2009 at 10:06 AM
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June 23, 2009 at 05:28 AM
Tol7tuy from Lviv said:

Simply horror as interestingly as though was this information perceived if there would be all vice versa? ? Undoubtedly, necessary information, but suppose that abandoning own ideas we will not nearly help.
August 12, 2009 at 07:40 AM
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August 23, 2009 at 08:06 AM
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August 28, 2009 at 10:17 AM
ivan from Ukrain said:

All is correct. I on myself have tested it.
September 26, 2009 at 07:45 AM
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September 29, 2009 at 08:20 AM
Sharon from Maryland said:

I guess my question would be does this same advice apply to middle school or high school students?

Thanks
Sharon
October 8, 2009 at 04:24 PM
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Runners who did not increase their speed in practice did not improve, even though they ran twice as many miles. Jogging slowly reduces your chance of injury ajf nike shoes, but it won’t help you to run fast. You can race only as fast as you run in practice, but don’t try to run fast every day. Intense exercise damages muscles. Try to run fast once or twice a week, never on consecutive days and don’t run fast when your legs feel heavy or hurt.
January 8, 2010 at 10:38 AM
Yuriy from USA said:

It is true that this little scare. Here are just interested in how it will happen. Hardly everything will be just as now
January 8, 2010 at 01:01 PM
Видеонаблюдение from Ukraine said:

to run faster in todays world is a really thing that needs everyone. Somebody who run faster then the others can do more
January 11, 2010 at 03:01 PM
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January 13, 2010 at 11:38 PM
Seo Consultant said:

I totally agree with this.."If you don’t run very fast in practice, you won’t be able to run very fast in races” You have to do better in practice and strive more.
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February 16, 2010 at 07:05 PM
Клининг from UA said:

I think that if you want to be able to run faster then others you should run longer at first
February 17, 2010 at 01:14 PM
Convert DVD to DROID said:

Thanks for this great article. I am running about 35 miles a week and am trying to get faster. I will try this method. Thanks!
March 7, 2010 at 06:54 PM