Speed and Endurance Training

Developing speed and endurance is the best way to run faster.

Speed ​​is a combination of strength and power.

Strength is the maximum force that your muscles can produce. It develops through Endurance Training, but also with some weight training that should focus on the lower body parts.

Power is a neuromuscular capacity that depends mainly on the resistance to which the muscle fibers can be recruited for the execution of the force and then the movement. It trains through short sprints and repetition tracks of workouts. For example, short sprints of 60 m that are repeated with a full recovery are an excellent way to stimulate the neuromuscular system so that it is forced to use as much force as possible in a very short period of time.

Less structured types of exercise such as fartlek or strides are also used to develop speed; These are methods that do not lead to a high level of fatigue, while significantly improving the capabilities of the speed-oriented corridor. It is proven that the neuromuscular system has memory, so not stimulating the components oriented to speed during training is a sure way of not being able to be fast in the future.

When strength and power improve, and speed is brought to an acceptable level, the next step is to work to maintain this speed for a longer period. After all, it’s the main principle of the long-distance race: run fast and long. The resistance to speed is the term used to qualify this capacity; It depends on the ability of the muscle to maintain high and rapid force production for longer.

The challenges that must be taken into account when training resistance is the production of lactic acid in the tissue at a certain rate called the Lactate Threshold. The beautiful technique of training is to raise the threshold so that good speed is maintained for an extended amount of time. It is true that the rhythm of the lactate threshold can be maintained for one hour. It’s just above the half-marathon pace for elite runners.

To train the speed resistance, you must perform medium to long length repeats on the track at a rate above the lactate threshold. That means, for example, 800 meters or 1k repetitions at a 5km race pace. The recovery must be kept short so that the muscles do not have the opportunity to recover completely, and then simulate the conditions of resistance and racial rigor.

Finally, working below the lactate threshold allows repeating the duration of the repetitions or times divided by a duration that could extend to an hour to the marathon rhythm.