Photo by latvian

Being able to run fast and strong is a pretty useful skill. Although it is trendy in some strength training circles to bash running and other cardio exercise, the fact remains that it is useful – even necessary – for taking part in many sports, outdoor pursuits and other fun stuff.

The distances don’t have to be daunting or boring; you can train for anything from 800m to 5k. For fitness and enjoyment, being able to run a mile or three at a decent pace is a popular goal. The cardiovascular endurance benefits will also help in strength training sessions and daily life.

You can improve your mile time and overall fitness with only a couple of running sessions a week. The key is how you train. Just going out for a half hour jog might be a pleasant way to spend some time but it won’t make a huge impact on your performance over a distance such as a mile. You will see much better improvements from interval training and some attention to technique.

Interval training

Most people need to improve two parameters: endurance and speed. Fortunately, you can do both at the same time through interval training.

Interval training is where you work for a prescribed interval (based either on time or distance) and recover for a prescribed interval, repeating this pattern a number of times. An example of an interval training session would be to run 400m four times, with 4 minutes rest between each 400m.

This improves your mile time in two important ways. Firstly it makes your body used to running faster. This is actually something neglected by a lot of people who habitually run a mile or more. They get better and better at trotting along over the distance but find it difficult to improve speed. Running shorter distances at a faster pace will train your nervous system and muscles to generate more speed. The second improvement is in fitness and endurance. Working at a high heartrate over a shorter distance will improve fitness, and working hard for the duration of the training session, even though you are having recovery periods, will improve overall endurance.

You can even combine the running elements of the training session with other exercises. For example, do your 400m run and then do sets of press-ups or sit-ups until the next run. This maintains the intensity of the session and keeps the heartrate up but allows you to recover from the running before the next interval. And you get some strength training in as well!

Hill sprints

Photo by jurvetson

Hill sprints are a type of interval training that build strength in the legs and work the heart and lungs very intensively. Hill sprints are also useful for running technique as they teach you how to use your arms and legs effectively.

And finally but perhaps most importantly, hill sprints teach mental discipline, how to push through the pain barrier and carry on working even when it hurts and you desperately want to stop! For most people, this has to be learned and takes practise; it’s not just a facet of your personality. Some will find it easier than others, but even if you think you don’t have the will power to keep going, you can acquire it with practise.

How to do hill sprints

Find a steep hill that takes between 30 and 60 seconds to sprint up. Sprint to the top of the hill, jog slowly back down and then sprint up it again. Repeat as many times as necessary. If you are not used to hill sprints, then 4-5 sprints is probably sufficient. If you are very fit, go for around 10 sprints. This is a tough session but well worth it.

The most important thing is not to stop at the top of the hill. It is supremely tempting but you must turn around and go back down immediately. Jog as slowly as you like – but keep moving. You will be surprised at how quickly you can recover and this recovery ability will only improve the more you train.

Good technique for hill sprints is to lean slightly into the hill, lift the knees and pump with the arms to propel yourself up the hill. Keep your head in line with your spine so you will end up looking at the ground a few feet ahead of you, with occasional glances at the top of the hill if you want. Breathe deeply and in a steady rhythm.

Try to maintain a steady cadence going up the hill. Cadence is the rate at which your feet strike the ground. What this means in practice is that as the hill gets steeper, you will need to shorten your stride slightly in order to maintain the same cadence. If you don’t shorten your stride, your cadence will slow down and you will begin to lose momentum. Keeping the same rhythm helps you to keep going mentally, even when your legs are burning.

Running technique

It is productive to train distances that are a bit longer than your target distance. For example, if you want to improve your mile time, run 5k. This helps to build up running strength in your body, primarily the legs but also the core, to maintain good posture while running. It is also an opportunity to work on running technique.

Many people slouch or hunch over their shoulders while running. They look at the floor, don’t really use the arms and fail to maintain a consistent stride length or pace. Often people don’t breathe in a regular rhythm and the breathing is shallow. A common error is to start off too fast, and get out of breath quickly or get a stitch. Running longer distances such as a few kilometres at a steady pace will allow you to iron out these technique problems.

Keep the head up, in line with the spine and looking straight ahead (unless you are running up a steep hill as mentioned above, where looking up would put your head out of alignment with your spine). Shoulders should be down and relaxed. Core should be firm and supportive. Arms should be relaxed and should swing naturally with the body. Be prepared to use them if you need extra effort. In a sprint or on a steep incline, focus on pushing the elbows up into the sky.

Walking lunges are a good warm-up exercise to include as they train your abs to maintain the right posture for running.

Overstriding

Be careful not to over-stride, as this will put the brakes on and throw you off balance. People sometimes do this in order to run faster but ultimately it is counter productive. The cumulative effects of the increased impact can cause injury and an ineffective stride limits your potential for speed.

Over-striding happens when you reach too far forward with your lead leg or land with a straight leg. So without reaching for the ground, land lightly on the midfoot with a slight bend in the knee and push off strongly with the balls of the feet.

If you are not sure if you are over-striding, you can test this by counting how many strides you do in a minute. If it is less than 90, you may be over-striding. When your stride is spot on, you will be able to feel it. You will feel as though you are gliding along and everything just feels easier. It’s a great feeling, as any runner will tell you!

Further information

Over-striding and how to correct it

Workouts for the mile and 1500 metres

Running correction video from Crossfit (mov)

Mile training schedules from Runner’s World

1. Train outdoors in all weathers. Rain, wind, snow, hail. Train when other people just stay in bed.

2. Add a ‘finisher’ to your workouts. Train your socks off, until you are lying on the floor, literally unable to do anything more. Then do another exercise.

3. Train till you throw up. If you haven’t puked, you’re not working hard enough. Hill sprints are one easy way to make you feel truly nauseous.

4. Take part in a challenging event, the tougher, colder, muddier, the better. Try Tough Guy, Grim Challenge or similar.

5. Get yourself a beast skill like muscle-ups, L-sits, one-arm press-ups. Basically a bodyweight strength exercise that makes people go ‘wow!’

6. Go swimming in the sea in December. Without a wetsuit.

7. Learn a fighting art.

8. Train in the most basic accommodation possible. Like an unheated shed or a deserted wasteland. Not health clubs that give you a free towel.

9. Are your friends scared of training with you? Why the hell not?!

10. Ignore pain. Pain is just weakness leaving the body!

So, how tough are you?