3 keys to faster race times

There is no silver bullet to faster race times, and anyone who says "do this one thing and you'll have a PR" is lying. However, in the years I've been coaching and with the athletes who've had the most success [defining that for these purposes in terms of PR's + race performance], there are three big keys to those successes, discussed below. If you're currently experiencing a plateau in your race performance, give one of these a try for your next training cycle! And if you need more support in implementing, check out the different opportunities to work with TW Training here!

1) Slow down your easy runs: You've probably heard this before but it’s worth repeating over and over. Most runners run all of their runs in the moderate zone - which works at first when you're a newer runner because more running is going to make you fitter and faster. But eventually it will stop working and running all of your runs around the same pace will usually lead to plateauing, or in some cases, getting injured.

I always stress effort over pace to my athletes for easy runs. If you are truly listening to your body and keeping it an easy effort, your paces should have a wide range. If you're always within 20 seconds for every run, you're probably not listening to your body. The majority of my athletes run their easy runs 90 seconds - 3 minutes slower than race pace. One of my athletes ran a 3:39 [8:22 min/mile] at Chicago last fall and the majority of her runs were in the 10's. Another athlete ran a 2:55 [6:40 min/mile] at Richmond in the fall and the majority of his runs were in the 8's and 9's. These are just two examples. Everyone's exact situation will look a bit different, but every one of my athletes who has big PR's truly takes it easy on their easy days.

The majority of your runs should be easy in nature. And running truly easy doesn't just help build your fitness. It also helps lower your injury risk because you're putting less stress on the body with easy runs.

It's worth noting that your easy effort might involve some run/walking and THAT'S OKAY! There's nothing wrong with walking and a lot of runners - especially new runners and back of the pack runners - really benefit from walking. The hardest part for many runners in this boat is taking their ego out of it and not caring what others think about running a slower pace.

2) Add in meaningful quality work: I see a lot of runners do speed work, but it's the same 400/800/1600m repeats for the entire training cycle. And while shorter speed does have a place in endurance training, adding longer threshold + race pace efforts within long runs are a game changer for many of my athletes. This can look a lot of different ways, but it's important to start small and work your way up to more quality work. Maybe start with running the last couple of miles of your long run at a moderate effort. Add in some mile repeats @ race pace with jogging recovery in-between. Build your way up to running longer periods of time at your goal race pace, but make sure your entire run isn't at race pace. You need to be able to recover from the run because you have more training to go. The race is the end point - not the workouts. So make sure you're not adding in more quality work than you can recover from...and push at the appropriate intensity so you're getting the desired outcome from the workout.

Another important thing to note is to be mindful of adding both mileage and speed at the same time. If you have a big jump in mileage one week, keep the miles all easy so your body can adapt. Then add in speed while maintaining the same mileage the next week. Make sure you don't add "too much too soon" in terms of intensity - which can be volume of miles and/or the intensity of miles.

3) Fuel + hydrate well: A lot of runners do not eat enough food, and this can be a game changer when it comes to performance. Fueling well during long runs means taking in a MINIMUM of 30-40g/hour for efforts over 90 minutes, and most runners can take in more if they train their stomachs to do so. Gels usually have 20-24g of carbs. So you'd need to take in 1.5-2 per hour to hit that minimum. But fueling isn't just during long runs - it's important to eat enough throughout the days to support increased training.

Hydration also matters - not just water, but also electrolytes. And when the weather is warmer, electrolytes [especially sodium] matter even more. Most runners need at least 300mg of sodium/hour on a long run in the summer and many runners need more. Salt tabs or electrolyte drinks are a great way to get your needs met while running.

Bonuses: While the ones above are the most common areas I see for improvement with non-elite runners, there are a few others worth noting:

• Recovery: Some athletes actually need to do less to see the results they are after. The magic happens when the body recovers from the work, and if you're never giving it a chance to do so, you may be doing the opposite of what you're intending.

• Mindset: Refusing to get help from a PT when injured, an unwillingness to make a change in training habits [even when it's not having the desired results], not being flexible with training [for example, taking a rest day when you're sick], and other things related to mindset can contribute to not achieving goals.

*If you need help reaching your next race goal, check out the opportunities to work with Coach Tammy!