Photo by mikebaird 10 Great Workouts to Spice Up Your Running Program
Too many beginning runners have but one speed: medium. And as someone who’s run a marathon, a few half marathons and a bunch of shorter races, I know that such a one-speed workout program can be not only boring, but it also doesn’t maximize your workouts.
Throw some variety into your running program to make things interesting and become a better runner.
I’m not saying you have to start a marathon training program, or some kind of sprint workout program. But if the only speed you’re running right now is medium, you should consider and at least try some other types of workouts.
Why? Just a few reasons:
- They make things interesting. Doing the same workout, day after day, isn’t a lot of fun. Sure, I enjoy running as much as the next guy, but changing things up is good. Too much repetition is hard on the mind.
- It can make you faster and stronger. Throwing a little speed into your workouts can make you a better runner. If you have the same 5K time every time, it may be that you need some faster workouts.
- It can help you run longer. If you ever want to do a longer race, such as a 20K, half marathon or marathon, you need to switch from medium speed to slow … in order to work on your endurance. Slowing your speed down (lowering intensity) allows you to run longer. And if you slowly lengthen the distance of your longest run, you can slowly build up endurance.
- Your body adapts. After a month or so of doing one type of workout, you body will adapt and you’ll no longer be getting the same kind of benefits from that workout. You need to change things up every 3-4 weeks … and if you do, you’ll most likely see continued improvements.
I should note that if you’re just starting out as a runner, I wouldn’t do the harder workouts below for at least a couple months. Your body is still adjusting to running … once it’s done that, you can add a little variety.
I should also note, as always, that I’m just an intermediate runner myself, and not a coach or trainer or doctor or anything. Take my advice with a grain (or bucketload) of salt … I’m only sharing things that have worked for me, and your mileage may vary.
So, let’s take a look at just a few different types of workouts you can do to add spice to your running program and improve your performance:
- The long run. Basically, it’s just extending how long you can run by a little. For marathons, a long run is usually considered 16 or more miles, but for people training for shorter races, shorter runs can still be considered long runs. It’s been said that the long run IS marathon training … because while you need to do more than your long runs to train for the marathon, the long run is what helps you build the endurance you need for the marathon. But (shorter) long runs can be used for any type of runner — if you’re trying to do better at the 5K, run longer than 3.1 miles so that the 5K is easy (endurance wise). To add long runs to your program, just schedule one workout a week where you try to add 10% to your longest run (in recent training — don’t count long runs you did a few years back). So if the longest you’ve run recently is 3 miles, try running 3.3 miles one week, and then 3.6 miles the next week, and so on. Every 4 weeks, cut back on your long run to give your body a chance to rest — it can’t continue to build endurance without a break. When you do your long runs, slow down a little and try to run nice steady runs at easy pace.
- Hills. Once you’ve built up a little endurance, hills are a perfect way to add strength to your training. Hills are like lifting weights for runners — you’re fighting gravity to lift your bodyweight with your legs, in a running motion. To do hill workouts, you could do hill repeats — run up a hill, then coast back down it, and repeat. But I recommend finding a hilly course (the road near my house is very hilly) so that your hill workout has a little variety. Run strong up the hills and coast down them. If you’ve never done hill workouts before, take it easy in the beginning, as with any exercise. Just run slow up the hills and slow down them, until you get used to it.
- The Fartlek. The funny name literally means “speed play” in Swedish, and it’s one of my favorite “speed” workouts. It’s actually a great starter workout for those who aren’t used to speed or interval training. Instead of hitting the track, take to your usual course on the road (or trail or wherever). Here’s how it works: warm up for 5-10 minutes, then start a series of varied intervals with speed and rest periods. So you could choose a landmark and run hard to it, and then jog to recover, and then choose another landmark and run hard to that, and so on. Fartleks can be extremely varied, so you could do shorter sprint intervals, followed by longer hard and steady intervals, throw in some hills, and so on. I recommend you do it to have fun … run hard for as long as you want, then rest for a short while, then run hard again. As you do these fartlek workouts, you’ll get stronger and faster, and your intervals will get harder and longer as you go on.
- Tempo run. This is a staple of many intermediate and advanced runner’s training plans, and if you don’t know this run yet, you should get to know it. Basically, it’s a sustained run at a hard, controlled pace (usually for no more than 40 minutes). Beginners should start with a tempo run of about 5 minutes and work up to about 20. Always start and end a tempo run with 5-10 minutes of warmup and then cool down. So a tempo run of 20 minutes, for example, would be 5-10 minutes warmup, 20 minutes of steady, hard and controlled running, and another 5-10 minutes to cool down, for 30-40 minutes total. The tempo run improves your running pace and performance and makes your running more efficient. A variation is the tempo interval, which is two or more shorter tempo runs (say, 10-20 minutes) separated by a few minutes of easy pace. Tempo runs should be done slower than 5K or 10K pace, but faster than half marathon pace.
- Road intervals. There are track intervals (more on those below) and there are road intervals, and both types of intervals come in a variety of flavors. I group the road intervals together here because they’re all very similar, in my opinion, although the variations are aimed to give the runner different benefits. But basically, it’s a 5-10 minute warm up, a series of harder intervals (with rest intervals in between, where you can either jog at easy pace or walk at fast pace), and then another 5-10 minute cool down. Variations include Cruise Intervals (popularized by legendary coach Jack Daniels), where you run 3-8 minute intervals at 8-12K pace with recovery intervals of 30 seconds to 2 minutes; tempo intervals (see above); aerobic intervals of distances from 400m to 2K at a 3K to 8K pace, with recovery jogs of about half the distance of each interval.
- HIIT. Short for High-Intensity Interval Training, HIIT is all the rage in many exercise circles, because of studies showing that it’s good for fat-burning and you can get a good workout in less time. Basically it’s a series of near-maximum intensity sprints with less-intense recovery intervals (after a warm up of course) and usually lasts between 10-20 minutes (not counting warm up and cool down). HIIT, because of the intensity of the intervals, can be very tough. I recommend building up to it with medium-distance track intervals 200 to 800 meter repeats.
- Yasso 800s. This strange name was given to an interesting workout by Amby Burfoot of Runner’s World magazine, named after his friend and co-worker at Runner’s World, Bart Yasso. Basically, it’s a form of speed training for marathoners, but you could adapt it for other training. How it works: you do 10 repeats of 800 meters (on the track), working up to a certain goal time. The goal time is figured by taking your goal marathon time (let’s say 3 hours and 30 minutes, or 3:30) and turning it from hours and minutes to minutes and seconds (in this example, it would be 3 minutes and 30 seconds per 800m repeat, or 3:30). So according to this theory, if you can do 10 repeats of 3:30 (3 minutes and 30 seconds), with 3:30 jogging rest intervals in between, you can do a 3:30 marathon (assuming you’re doing the appropriate long runs and other slower mileage).
- Mile repeats. Another track repeat workout, mile repeats are exactly how they sound — a mile at strong pace, followed by a couple laps of recovery, and repeat. I’ve done perhaps 4 repeats of a mile. You could do other distances — 1000m, 800m, 400m, etc.
- Zen run. Not really a workout, but something I like to do to change things up, especially if I’ve been doing some of the harder runs above. I call it a “Zen run” because my goal is not to improve performance or burn a lot of calories, but to focus on being present as I run. It helps me be more aware of my body, my surroundings, and my thoughts, and I find this very useful, as a runner and as a person. See this article for more.
- Rest. OK, this is not a workout at all (well, it could be … read on for more). But I thought it important to include “rest” on this list because it’s too often ignored by many runners. They run hard every day and don’t think they need to rest … but rest is just as important as the workout for getting fitter and faster … because the way your body gets fitter is first from the stress of exercise and second by adapting to that stress during the rest or recovery period. If you’re just a beginner, I recommend alternating running days with complete rest days. Later, you can add “recovery” runs in between harder workouts, instead of complete rest, but recovery runs must be run at a very, very easy pace … basically, just to get your legs moving. You aren’t trying to go fast or long on a recovery run. Always use the hard-easy rule — if you run hard one day, rest or do a very easy recovery run the next. A hard run is any run where you run relatively fast or hard or long.
Have a favorite workout of your own? Let us know in the comments.
If you liked this article, please bookmark it on del.icio.us or vote for it on Digg. I’d appreciate it. :)
Also see:
- Zen To Slim: A Simple, 5-Step Weight Loss Plan
- 5 Powerful Reasons to Eat Slower
- 16 Tips to Triple Your Workout Effectiveness
- 20 Ways to Eliminate Stress From Your Life
- Beginner’s Guide to Cycling
- 6 Tips for Commuting to Work by Bike
- Beginner’s Guide to Running
- Top 42 Exercise Hacks
- Top 15 Diet Hacks
- Recipe: Best … soup … ever
- How to Get Back on the Exercise Train
- Trying to eat healthier? Make lifestyle changes, and have a weekly cheat day
- Health tip: Try eating vegetarian sometimes
- Recipe for a Flat Stomach
- Get Healthy and Fit, Part 2 - Exercise Edition
- Posted on 26 October 2007 in Fitness, Health Tip Day |
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Comments (31)
Warren Says:
October 26th, 2007, 7:46 am
After recovering from an ankle injury I am eager to get back into my running routine. Thanks for the tips. Once I get back into the swing of things I will definitely try some of these.
By the way, the Zen Run is my favorite. I love concentrating on my presence while running. It is a great way to completely ignore the runner’s fatigue I get after the first mile and a half.
Mark Says:
October 26th, 2007, 8:02 am
Hey Leo -
Woke up this morning and was most definitely going to skip my run (rain, clouds, etc) until I read your article….figured I would give the Zen Run a try.
Best,
Mark
Kyle Says:
October 26th, 2007, 8:31 am
I liked seeing the fartlek on your list. I used to do those in cross country. We’d run 5 minutes hard, 4 minutes recovery…forever. It was fun.
Ed Says:
October 26th, 2007, 8:53 am
I’ve been running for about a year and a half, and this post has done a better job explaining the various kinds of running workouts than anything I’ve seen. I’ve been hesitant to incorporate speed workouts into my routine for a number of reasons — I don’t care about speed, laziness, fear of injury — but a bigger reason is that I didn’t understand the mechanics of how some of these runs work. I’m going to use this post to bring some speed into my workouts.
One thing I don’t know whether I will ever “get” is the Tempo workout, but that isn’t because I don’t understand the concept. It’s just that I don’t have the “body awareness” or whatever to know what my 5K pace is. One day, I feel like I am running nearly all out and find out I am running nearly 11-minute miles. Another day, I feel relaxed but strong and learn that my pace was 10-flat.
Lodewijkvdb Says:
October 26th, 2007, 9:05 am
This is going on file for a couple of months…I just started running last week, so I’ll stick to the basics for now.
But I enjoyed the article and will be back in a couple of months :)
FreeFromBroke Says:
October 26th, 2007, 9:51 am
Great Article! For me, long runs end up being zen runs at least part of the time. At about 5 miles in my body finds a nice rhythm. This is when I can take in my surroundings and see all the people around. Later on though my zen run turns into my “this hurts when will this end run” but that’s my long run for you.
I’ve been training for my first marathon (NYC on 11/4) and what I love about the long run is that for a while, every time I went out I was doing a distance I’ve never done before in my life. No matter how sore or tired I was it always felt great knowing my body has done something new!
Dan Lennon Says:
October 26th, 2007, 10:17 am
This is an excellent resource for beginning runners. I started training for a triathlon a couple of months ago and found that I knew a lot about swimming and cycling but nearly nothing about running (I think I am still rebelling against my runner parents that way). In fact, this is the article I wish I’d found a month ago.
(If tales of a novice training for a triathlon interest you, I’m blogging about it at http://www.runningwithit.com )
kch Says:
October 26th, 2007, 11:21 am
Excellent roundup of the most important running workouts.
I’d have to say that my favorite workout when I’m training for a race is the tempo workout. In my opinion, it’s the best way to get out of your comfort zone a little bit and help you understand what race pace should feel like.
Kopernik Says:
October 26th, 2007, 11:23 am
Oh! I searche article like this for a long time! Thanks!
christina Says:
October 26th, 2007, 12:40 pm
I’m not much of a runner, but I think the concept of variety that you write about here is of great use no matter what form of exercise it is applied to.
Variety is the only thing that keeps me going to the gym. If I try to complete the same work out four times a week, by the beginning of the second week I am looking for excuses not to go.
So one day I run, one day I swim, one day I lift, one day I stick to calisthenics, or yoga, or try one of the crazy looking cardio machines. Variety keeps me interested, and it is very important.
Jonas Rabbe Says:
October 26th, 2007, 14:57 pm
Awesome article, definitely going into my del.icio.us library. I have been running for almost two years now and is planning to run the Copenhagen Marathon in May, so this was perfect for a bit more inspiration.
I must admit I knew most of the workouts, but it is always nice to get some new descriptions, and the Yasso 800s - and to some extend the HIIT workout - were new to me. Guess I’ll have to work those into my current schedule.
Right now, however, I’ll just focus on my 10k race on Sunday.
The Smartest Man in the World Says:
October 26th, 2007, 16:17 pm
Great tips. Thanks! I just hope I can add few and maintain.
Kim Puzder Says:
October 26th, 2007, 16:19 pm
I don’t really like to run, but my favorite running workout keeps me busy for 1/2 hour.
Check it out on my blog: http://ruleofthreediet.com/week-3-day-5-yo-yo-workouts/
Shameless plug, I know, but you asked ;)
-Kim
Edward Palonek Says:
October 26th, 2007, 17:01 pm
Very helpful article. I have already put your principles in place and can feel the difference. Edward Palonek at http://www.edwardpalonek.ca
Mike Pedersen Golf Says:
October 26th, 2007, 19:12 pm
Variety is always a good thing not only for the body but the mind. Same with lifting weights. Do the same program over and over and your body goes into cruise mode. One day high reps, the next lower reps with more weight. Another day just bodyweight exercises, another day with just dumbbells. Many different ways to “skin a cat”.
mike Says:
October 26th, 2007, 19:30 pm
Great article! I’m new to running on a regular basis (did my first 5k a couple of months ago) and I’m always looking for new stuff to keep my daily routine interesting.
I’m at the point where I want to push myself physically, so the Hills and HIIT workouts are really appealing to me. Thanks for the suggestions!
Lodewijkvdb Says:
October 27th, 2007, 1:53 am
I just re-read this post after my run today. Definitely going to use some of the techniques and maybe even earlier on.
Hills are going to be a problem though. They are practically non-existent in the Netherlands and certainly in the area I live in. The thing that comes closest are viaducts, but I’d have to run about 6k to get there…
I’ll keep that one for holiday runs :)
Dirk Says:
October 27th, 2007, 14:45 pm
One way I do my “Fartlek” is filling my MP3-Player with my favorite music, fast or slow, and set to random (in my case shuffle :) ) play. Everytime I have a fast song, I adapt my speed. Slow songs again and I cut back.
Phraedus Says:
October 28th, 2007, 3:27 am
This is a fantastic post, your getting better and better at writing these articles Leo.
Also, I like your particular writing style, to start with the benefits of the particular advice, and then move on to the point form is a really good method.
I’ve also noticed that you’ve got more honest in your writing over time, I think this is a positive step. Nice work.
pca12 Says:
October 29th, 2007, 2:49 am
I have been running steadily for about 6 months now, and added a HIIT session once a week a couple of months ago, and they are fantastic, especially if you’re pushed for time. My pattern is 30 seconds full speed, then 2 minutes recovery, repeated 6 times.
Jonas Rabbe Says:
October 29th, 2007, 11:26 am
@Dirk, that is an awesome way of regulating fartlek. Usually, however, music numbers are usually too long for my purposes. The street lamps are pretty regularly spaced where I live, so what I do is sprint 2 lamp posts (2 x the spaces in between posts) and then jog 2.
@pca12, just remember to mix it up. If you always run the same intervals you body might plateau. It is also useful to have some longer intervals in there.
pca12 Says:
October 30th, 2007, 5:16 am
@Jonas. Thanks for the advice. Today I did a 20-minute tempo run, and it was not as tough as I thought. (Maybe I should have done 30 mins.) I will definitely add this to the weekly routine.
Ivan Says:
October 30th, 2007, 20:08 pm
I hit the Hills today, what a difference it can make. I’m definitely going to rotate that into my routine.
Tina Says:
November 1st, 2007, 0:46 am
I’ve been a runner since HS and this is a good reminder when I get burned out. I also mix it up by running stairs/stadiums halfway through my run or doing situps/push-ups. Also, my best runs are with friends as it keeps it interesting with talks or a bit of competition.
hunter rarick Says:
December 3rd, 2007, 9:47 am
I am running everyday in the Army ROTC program and to lower you time in long distance due intervals. Sprint for 100 meters or so. Also run stairs and due at least 20 minutes of cardio a day.
mohannraj Says:
March 4th, 2008, 5:16 am
please display more workout programes on screen.it is more useful to the all atheletes.
Get a Flat Stomach Says:
March 20th, 2008, 11:45 am
Very nice and helpful article. I will put your advice to use.
Quit Smoking Today Says:
April 4th, 2008, 17:46 pm
Hi, I would add trying the Tabta Protocol, I’m trying this method for a week and it is giving me great results for improving my endurance. It also helps to breathe better, which I need after being a smoker for so much time.
Thanks!
Flat Stomach Says:
June 12th, 2008, 9:45 am
Over time I started to like hills more and more, because it allows somehow to run “slow” and still burn fat.
P90x Says:
July 22nd, 2008, 18:40 pm
I have been running for the last month and a half, I really enjoyed reading this article, especially the part about hills. I am about to go on a four day hike, so i am going to hit some hills to build strength, I also mix my running with a P90x program so that helps a lot.
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