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It’s natural to wonder how to run faster and for longer, whether you’re new to running or have been doing it for a while. Maybe it’s so you can beat your personal best on your daily run, train for a marathon, or simply feel more fit.
Whatever motivates you to put on your shoes and run, these suggestions will help you improve your running speed!
How to Boost Your Speed?
Education and a solid plan are the greatest strategies to ensure that you achieve your fitness goals. However, if you’re looking for some tips to help you run faster and farther, then the following smart strategies will get you started.
Also Read: 7 Smart Ways To Stay Fit And Eat Healthily
The 5 Ways
1. Increase Your Speed Workouts
How many times have you been told that endurance is more important than speed? While it’s true that running fast requires that your engine can keep on burning, it shouldn’t stop there. In order to run fast and endure, stamina must be complemented with speed workouts!
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1.1 Warm-Up and Cool Down
Before and after a speed session, make sure to warm up and cool down. The warm-up should be long enough so that your body can better deal with the stress and strain of running fast. The cooldown will help reduce your muscle tension, lower your heart rate and allow for a slower transition back to a relaxed state.
2. Focus on Technique
Running faster means that you’ll need more energy to push off the ground with each stride, so it’s important to have good form when running fast or you’ll run out of steam sooner than expected! Focus on keeping your knees slightly bent and your strides long, not on worrying about how fast you can run. It is important to be relaxed when running so that you can make each stride to its fullest extent.
2.1 Proper Breathing
Breathing is also important for distance running so that your body can deliver the oxygen needed for energy. Focus on exhaling as you push off with each stride and inhale deeply upon landing so that air fills the lungs. Make sure to maintain this pattern of breathing throughout your duration of running fast!
3. Keep Your Stride Short
It may seem counterintuitive, but in order to run faster, you have to take shorter strides. This can be hard to do when you’re used to taking a pace that is comfortable and feels right. But, taking shorter strides will help you break into faster running and the other benefits of this technique are:
3.1 You’ll have more power
When you take shorter strides, this allows your legs to undergo more stress and speed up the delivery of oxygenated blood throughout your body. Your heart rate will rise so that your muscles can deliver more energy for a faster stride. The longer stride will also allow for better balance and stability, which will help improve other aspects of running fast, including being able to push off from the ground with less effort.
4. Practice Marathon Runs
Another tip for running faster is to practice marathon runs at least twice a week. This will gradually increase your endurance and make you more adept at running long distances.
4.1 Start with a Shorter Distance
When you’re training for a marathon, start with a shorter distance than you’ve ever run before. It may help you to overcome any trepidation about running long distances for the first time, but it could also be that you haven’t increased your stamina by taking shorter strides before!
4.2 Practice Proper Stride Length
One of the biggest errors that runners make when running fast is taking an overly quick stride. Start practicing the correct stride length and use this to determine the speed at which you should be running. Run at this pace for 20 minutes or so and then try to run faster or slower again. Repeat these steps until you feel comfortable in your new place!
5. Visualize Your Performance
The end goal is to run faster, so think about running fast! Those who envision themselves as top runners will find it easier to become good at running fast. Think of how you want to move your legs and also how you want to feel while running so that you can really get a sense of what it takes to run faster! This sense of “seeing” yourself as a better runner both mentally and physically, will help improve your running performance.
Visualizing your performance will actually make you a better runner in real life and this technique is practiced by pro-athletes all the time.
5.1 Keep a Positive Attitude
To run fast, you have to have a positive attitude and be in the right frame of mind. When you’re running fast, you’ll be able to push off the ground with more force than when running slow. This is because your body can deliver more oxygen to working muscles and your muscles will have more energy because it’s easier to breathe.
This means that you’ll be able to run faster and make better use of aerobic capacity by taking shorter strides, which means that your training sessions are focused on speed rather than endurance! With this technique, it’s possible for runners of all levels to improve their speed!
5.2 Visualize Your Goal
Having a goal will not only help you break into the fast pace that you want to run, but it will also keep you focused! If you know exactly how far you want to run and why then that’s all that’s needed. Add some background music to that awareness and focus on your breathing and stride.
5.3 Conduct Speed Workouts
While the last two tips are more “mental,” this tip is more physical so let’s start with how to make your speed workout more efficient! A good speed workout is all about specific intervals of running at the right pace so that you can get tired before your muscles are completely depleted of energy.
