How to Run Faster

Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN
myTreadmillTrainer.com

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Now that we've covered the biomechanical factors that incluence running speed and helping you run faster, let's turn our attention to what I think are the real factors influencing your ability to run fast.

But first, let me just say that if you're a 100m or 200m sprinter, the stride length and frequency components are going to have much more impact on your ability to run fast, then energy system factors which we are about to discuss. But if you're running for distance that are longer than that (and most of us are) then your ability to improve your lactate threshold and your VO2 max are much more importantly. Together, these 2 physiological (or energy system) components will enable you to maintain a faster running speed for a much longer period of time.

Improving Your Lactate Threshold and VO2 max

Most of the ATP (energy) production used to provide energy during the early stages of exercise come from aerobic sources. However, as exercise intensity increases blood levels of lactic acid begin to rise exponentially. This sudden rise in blood lactate is known as the lactate threshold (or anaerobic threshold).

In untrained people, this appears around 50%-60% of VO2 max (maximum aerobic capacity) while it occurs at higher work rates in aerobically trained individuals (ie. 65% to 80% VO2 max). Basically, what this means is that the fitter you are, the higher the intensity you can sustain before lactic acid is produced. This means that you won't fatigue as quickly and will be able to run longer and faster before you do.

VO2 max (also known as your maximal oxygen consumption, maximal oxygen uptake or aerobic capacity) is the maximum capacity of your body to uptake, transport, and utilize oxygen during incremental exercise. It is the gold standard measure that reflects your cardiovascular or aerobic fitness of the individual.

The fitter you are, the higher your VO2 max. I've covered these topics in more detail in previous article but I'd like to focus, here, on how to improve them substantially that you can run faster.

Are you ready?

To run faster, you need to train faster! That's it. Training fast means that you are pushing your body to its limits and forcing it to spend more time above its lactate threshold. This is turn will improve both your ability to handle lactic acid and better your VO2.

Think about it. If two people are runnning at 10 mph (which is a 6 minute/mile pace - pretty fast), the one who can last longer will win, right? But why does one last longer than the other. Well, the faster (more endurant) runner won't produce as much lactic acid at that speed. If he/she does, then will come about later rather than sooner. Secondly, their body will be much more aerobically fit meaning that their muscles will have more capillaries supplying oxygen, more mitochondria producing ATP, and an improved ability to buffer lactic acid build up within the muscles.

All of these factors lead to running faster!

So let's look at a simple way to run faster using these principles. Let's say that you want to run a 5k in 20 minutes (which is pretty quick). That means that your average running pace would need to be a 4 minutes per km, right? In order for you to accompish this feat it would make a lot of sense to train faster than your goal pace. So you might want to spend more of your training running at a pace of perhaps 3:30 minutes per km. Thus, when you come around to running your 5k pace it will that much easier and you'll most likely beat your projected time since your body is now used to running faster!

=> CLICK HERE for the best running workouts to help you run faster!