A simple track based speedwork plan for beginners

A simple track based speedwork plan for beginners

And anyone who is looking to go faster.

In the last post I explained to you why doing speedwork on the track is a powerful addition to your running repertoire that goes far beyond effort and speed.  Now let me give you some simple rules to keep you on-track, so to speak…

1. Focus on form and pace not effort and speed.

When you are running a speedwork repetition, whether it is 100M or 1600M what you are trying to teach your body is HOW to run at this pace, form and effort level.  Put heart rate and time and distance aside for the moment.  Focus on how your body position, your foot-strike, your kick-back your hand position, your head position, your hips, and all of the other things that make for a fast, efficient runner.

Don’t worry about distance or speed.  Speed comes from form and pace.

2.  When your form breaks, stop.

If you find your form falling apart when you try to maintain a pace, stop.  You are trying to burn in that form so running with your arms flailing and feet slapping is not what you want.  It’s ok to stop.  Focus on mastery, not performance.  Once you get the tools you can turn up the heat.

There are many places that will show you good running form on the internet. Watch some of those videos and make a mental copy that you can visualize while you are running your workouts.

3. Start small.

If you can only hold that pace and form for 100M, that’s great.  Don’t try to do too much.  The first 3-4 weeks are going to be simply about getting comfortable with the mechanics.  If you make it hard before you are acclimated to the track you’ll either hurt yourself or get discouraged and quit.

Make a deal with yourself going in that the first 4 weeks are not about accomplishment.  They are about learning.  They are about learning what paces feel like and where your effort thresholds are.  If you can’t hold that good form for 1600M don’t worry because improvement comes fast once you get the knack for it.

4. Learn to run in your ‘discomfort zone’.

It’s ok to be uncomfortable.  In fact, one of the keys to successful running and racing is to become comfortable with discomfort.  When you get into the last lap of a hard 1600 it is going to hurt.  Your body is performing beyond its current threshold.  Your heart is having trouble keeping up. Your lungs can’t provide enough oxygen.  Your muscles are protesting.

But it’s ok.  You can decide to hold your form and pace and keep running.

Your task is to use your big brain to override these warning signals.  Your task at the track is to teach your mind that it is ok to run in your discomfort zone.  As you practice this it gets easier.  It never hurts less but you learn to control it and to turn that discomfort into fuel.  It truly is a mental game.  The mental strength learned from probing discomfort at the track can be parleyed into courageous race performances.

5. Warm up and cool down.

Warm up by jogging 4 laps of the track.  Slow and steady.  Then do your stretching.  Make sure you stretch your hamstrings, Achilles and inductors (insides of legs).  You can throw a couple short 20 stride surges in your warm up if you like.

After your speedwork session is complete jog another 4 laps and stretch again.  Stretching warm is important.  Don’t just jump in the car.

6. Jog between repetitions.

I often see people run a speed repetition of; let’s say 200M, and then collapse.  This is not what you want to teach your body to do.  Run through the finish, and jog or walk for 1-2 minutes after you complete the speed repetition.  You want your body to be able to recover while still moving.  This is what happens in a race.

Remember your number one goal is conditioning your body and mind to perform at a higher level.  This is a mental exercise to align and burn in your pace and effort.

A simple plan

OK, Chris, I get it.  But how do I get started?  What is the distance?  What are the workouts? What are my paces?

Let’s keep it simple.  Once you learn and find your track legs you can freestyle and find what works best for you, but for now, for this first pass, let’s get you successfully started.

How often?

I’m going to recommend twice a week.  If you are doing your long run on Saturday then Monday do a track Speed workout and Wednesday do a track Tempo workout.  If you do your long run on Sunday then Tuesday Speed, Thursday Tempo.

The total miles for these workouts, with warm up and cool down should be about the same as your base mileage for that day.  If you typically run 4 miles on Tuesday then your speedwork session plus your warm up and cool down would be around 4 miles.

An example would be 1 mile warm up + 4 X 100M speed + 4X100M recovery = approximately 1.5 miles, so throw a 2.5 mile warm down jog on the end and you have your 4 miles.

How Fast? 

I am going to come at this from a couple angles.  If you have already run some races you can use your race times to back into your speed and tempo times.  Your tempo speed for these short track intervals is going to be roughly equivalent to your 5K race pace.  You speed pace is going to be 20-30 seconds faster than that.  Start with this and see how it feels after 3-4 weeks.  You can adjust.

If you have no race experience then estimate from whatever your current training pace is.  Simply take 2 minutes off your current training pace for speed and 1:30 for Tempo.  So if you’re at 10 minute miles, try 8:00’s for speed and 8:30s for fast tempo.

This is not brain surgery.  We are just trying to get close and you can adjust it as you get better.  As a beginner it is not about speed, it is not about effort, it I s about getting comfortable with running faster.

How much?

I would plan for a 16 week experiment.  The first 4 weeks is going to be focusing on getting your form and mechanics right.  The last 12 weeks are going to focus on building strength. Start small with 100M and 200M repeats with a 2 minute jog break in between.

See what the paces feel like over the distances.  At what point does your form break down and you begin to struggle?

Work on exact pacing so that you can predictably run each 100M at the same pace without looking at your watch?

Find your thresholds.   At what point does your breathing get hard and you can no longer speak?  At what pace are you gasping for breath?  Practice raising your pace, in a controlled good form into these discomfort zones and manage the discomfort with your mind.  Relax into the discomfort.

Do this for 4 weeks.  See if you can work up to a steady paced 200M or 400M or 800M or 1600M.  This will let you know what your starting point is.

It takes 3 weeks for your legs and body to acclimate to speedwork.  Don’t be surprised if week 2 is harder than week 1.  You should start feeling signs of strength by week 3 and 4.

Now you are ready to take on a campaign or program that includes speed and fast tempo.  There are plenty of these programs on the internet, but your best bet is to ask an experienced runner from your local running club to suggest a plan.

Side Bar:

Rules of the road.  Here are a couple quick points of etiquette so you don’t get in trouble at the track.

The distances are measured from the inside lane.  For example once around the inside lane is 400M.  For each lane outwards that you move the distance gets longer.  There is some geometry you can use but it ends up adding a second or two to each lap.

Traditionally everyone runs in the counter-clockwise direction – you left shoulder against the inside.

Slower runners and walkers should be aware of faster runners doing their workouts and try to get out of the inside lane when they are coming by.  Don’t walk or run in big groups that block the road.

Faster runners should be mindful of slower runners and walkers and just pass them on one side or the other without freaking them out.  A quick “Beep Beep” helps.

In general, folks, just communicate with everyone to let them know what you’re up to and what to expect.

Put your bags, bottles, clothes off the side, not on the track.

Bicycles are not allowed on the track.

The track has four equal 100M sections.  Two straight-aways and two corners.  Start and end at the same point in the inside lane and you have 400M.

Bring some water and a little sports drink.  Speedwork is hard and it also gives you a chance to practice digestion under duress.  Eat a gel or Powerbar 90 minutes prior to your workout to have energy going in.  Take some protein in the first ½ hour after you finish. (Tuna or Soy milk is good)

Sidewalk chalk is excellent for keeping track of your laps and marking target times on the corners.

You will need a sports watch.  Nothing over-the-top, just a digital watch with a start and stop button.