2016 has come and gone. It may have been your best year of racing yet, maybe it was absolutely awful. Either way, January is the time to consider what you did right and what you can do to run faster in 2017. Start the year with Kelly O’Mara’s 9 ways to become a faster runner.
1. Set a goal
The first thing you should do in 2017 is set a goal for 2017.
“Sign up for an event that’s outside of your comfort zone,” says Magdalena Boulet, a 2008 U.S. Olympic marathoner and winner of the 2015 Western States 100. If you’re a little nervous, you’ll be a little more motivated, she says.
2. Make a plan
“Having a goal without a plan is like hoping tomorrow you’ll wake up and suddenly be a sub-3-hour marathoner.” says O’Mara. There are 3 ways to go about this, first plot backwards from your main goal with a series of smaller goals. Second use a generic training plan and tweak to suit you personally and your goal. Thirdly join a club or training group with people who have similar goals.
3. Go short and fast
“Add into your regular workout repertoire: 10 x 20 seconds really fast, then jog easy for 1–2 minutes in between each.” says O’Mara. “The bouts of speed will improve economy and help engage fast-twitch fibers, which can then be called on later.”
4. Warm up first
What does that mean though? Warming up before you run is important to protect your body from injury. Try including a 5-10 minutes of stretching before your run. These can include muscle activation, lateral movements and dynamic stretches.
5. Add one more day of running
“While there are lots of ways to improve, simply running more is often the most overlooked one.” says O’Mara.
6. Change your shoes
Simple but effective. It can help prevent injury through variation and is infact not more expensive as your shoes will last longer if you aren’t running in them every day.
7. Run harder on your long runs
Most runners include a long easy run in their weekly training schedule but not every long run has to be a slow one. Change it up from time to time by speeding up every so often or finishing with three fast miles.
8. Take time off
“If we really want to get faster at running, we also have to stop running sometimes. After a half marathon, take a week off, and after a marathon, you should have two weeks off,” says Ben Rosario, coach for the Northern Arizona Elite training group. “Time off means zero running, just easy walking or swimming or biking.” Most injuries are as a result of not recovering enough.
9. Sleep more
“There’s a reason most professional athletes get close to 10 hours of sleep every night. That’s time your body needs to rebuild muscle fibers and repair cells, especially if you’re putting it through a lot. Resolve in 2017 to carve out time to sleep more—think of it as training time for your next marathon.” says O’Mara.
Let 2017 be better than 2016! To read the full article by Kelly O’Mara for Competitor.com click here.