How to Get Faster at Running
I used to run with this huge group of women… most of us had strollers or kids on scooters and things like that. I led the speed workouts at the track on the military base, and honestly… it wasn’t some all done out coaching thing. It was just us moms figuring it out together… And sometimes we had a whiteboard to remember the workout we were doing.
We’d set up all the kids at one end, take turns watching them while the rest of us did our repeats, and then we’d cheer each other on. That’s it. That was the whole thing.
And if you’re thinking about getting faster, this is actually the perfect time to do it. Back to school is happening anyway… routines are already shifting. So find a friend. Someone who wants to get faster too.
Meet at a track or a park and take turns… you run your intervals while they’ve got the kids, then you’re both out there cheering while they do theirs.
You don’t need a coach or some complicated plan. You need to simply understand what speed work is and why it matters, and then you need to show up.
That’s what that season and those moms taught me… that getting faster doesn’t have to look like anything other than you being intentional and honest about what your body can do.
And I mean… we got to look like superheroes in front of our kids who were cheering us on to go faster. One of the coolest parts of doing these different things in front of your kids. You get to show them what’s possible.
Alright… let’s do this!
First Comes Distance… Then Comes Speed
If you’re newer to running, focus on your foundation before you touch speed work.
That foundation means dialing in your form and mechanics, gradually building up your training load, adding strength training, and actually having a recovery and nutrition plan behind you.
Most running resources consider you a new runner if you’ve been running less than 6 months or covering under 15 to 25 miles a week. The reason to hold off on speed work early on isn’t arbitrary… your body needs time to adapt to the stress of running itself before you start layering more stress on top of it.
Once you’ve been running consistently for more than 6 months and you’re covering 15 to 25 miles weekly, it’s generally safe to start adding in speed work once a week, and when you do, keep it under 10 percent of your total weekly mileage. If you’ve been training consistently for over a year, you can work faster sessions in more than once a week.
If you want some structure around this, running clubs with scheduled speed workouts or local running clinics can be genuinely helpful for learning to do this safely. And as always… listen to your body. If something hurts, stop. That’s not the moment to push through.
Why Speed Actually Matters
Getting faster isn’t just about bragging rights, it genuinely improves your race performance and overall fitness, and a lot of that comes down to something called your lactate threshold.
Every time you run, your body produces lactate. On easy runs, your body handles it fine, converting it into glycogen for energy. But when you push harder and faster, lactate production ramps up. Push too hard for too long and you hit the point where your body can’t keep up anymore… that’s your lactate threshold, and it’s exactly where fatigue and performance decline show up. Speed workouts train your body to raise that threshold, which is what lets you hold a faster pace for longer.
Building the Foundation First
Proper Running Form
Good form makes you more efficient, faster, and less injury prone. You can work on this through posture, arm movement, foot strike, cadence, running drills, strength training, and mobility work. My advice… pick one thing at a time instead of trying to overhaul everything at once.
A few specifics worth knowing…
- Posture: keep it straight and relaxed
- Arm movement: elbows at roughly 90 degrees, moving forward and back at your sides, not crossing your body’s centerline
- Foot strike: aim for a midfoot strike, landing under your hips so you’re ready to push off quickly
- Cadence: build stride frequency gradually over weeks, the general target is around 180 steps per minute, but that rhythm takes real practice to get to
Recording yourself running is a genuinely useful way to see your form objectively instead of guessing at what you’re doing.
Why Strength Training Matters
If you want more speed, or more mileage, your body needs to actually be ready for that added demand.
Strength training builds the muscle, bone, and joint resilience that supports it, and it helps you hold proper form and posture even late into a long run. When one area is weak, your body compensates somewhere else, and that shows up as inefficient form and a higher injury risk.
This matters for every runner, but especially as we get older. Strength work counteracts muscle loss, strengthens bone, and closes the gaps that lead to injury. It’s just as important as the running itself.
Exercises worth prioritizing…
- Squats and lunges
- Core work, planks, Russian twists
- Plyometrics for explosive speed, box jumps, skipping, single leg hops, broad jumps
- Resistance training with weights or bands
Nutrition
As your mileage or pace climbs, your body needs more to support it. Protein, fiber, and carbohydrates all become more important the more you’re asking of your performance, and the quality of what you’re eating matters just as much as the quantity once performance is the goal.
Pay attention to how your body responds too.
Sugary drinks, fried foods, spicy dishes, and for some people dairy or high fiber foods like beans, broccoli, and berries, can all cause stomach issues mid-run, so it’s worth noticing your own patterns.
Rest and Recovery
None of this works without recovery. Give your body real time to recuperate after each run, avoid stacking demanding workouts back to back, and take at least one full day off running each week.
Keep an eye on your sleep and how ready your body actually feels before you plan your next hard effort.
And recovery isn’t just physical… managing everyday stress matters too. Even something simple like a few minutes of mindfulness can genuinely support how well you recover.
Types of Speed Work
Once your form, strength, recovery, and nutrition are dialed in, it’s time to actually add speed work.
Interval Training
Interval training alternates high intensity effort with recovery periods. It raises your anaerobic threshold, improves your ability to hold faster paces over longer distances, and builds cardiovascular efficiency.
Speed repeats… structured by time or distance with planned recovery. Try running 400 meter laps around a standard track, about 10 seconds per mile faster than your 5K pace, for 10 to 12 laps with roughly 30 seconds of rest between each.
Strides… short bursts of speed usually done at the end of a run. Find flat ground and sprint 70 to 100 meters, or about 10 to 20 seconds, at roughly 80 percent effort. Four to eight strides after a run is plenty.
Hill work… running hills builds both speed and strength. On a treadmill, set a 4 to 6 percent incline, run uphill for 1 to 2 minutes at a challenging pace, drop to flat for 1 to 2 minutes of recovery, and repeat for 4 to 6 rounds.
Fartleks… Swedish for “speed play,” this just means varying your pace and effort throughout a run, structured or not. Pick up the pace up a hill, or push for one block, whatever feels right in the moment.
Ladder workouts… these build explosive speed and refine your sprint form. Try 200m, 300m, 400m, 800m, 400m, 300m, 200m, each at an all out effort with 2 to 3 minutes of full rest between.
A Couple More Speed Tools
Negative splits mean each mile gets faster than the one before it. Start steady and controlled, then build. This is especially useful on race day when nerves make it tempting to go out too fast… starting slow and finishing strong tends to produce your best overall result.
Tempo runs hold a steady, challenging pace over a longer stretch than intervals do, pushing you past your lactate threshold to build both endurance and speed. If you’re unsure of pacing, use the talk test… you should be able to answer a short question but not hold a full conversation. These are demanding, so once a week or once every couple weeks is plenty.
The Takeaway
Hey… all you really need to remember from all of this…
Getting faster isn’t about jumping straight into speed work and hoping for the best. It’s about building something first. Your form, your strength, your nutrition, your recovery… all of it matters. Once you’ve got that foundation, then the speed work actually does something.
And you don’t have to do this alone. Find your person if you can. Search mom groups. Running groups. Mom groups with a running sub-groups. I know this might even seem difficult in certain areas but even think about your homeschooling moms! I mean we had to do gym classes as well for our curriculum.
Show up with your kids and your stroller. Take turns. Cheer each other on. That’s where the real consistency comes from… not from some perfect plan, but from actually having someone there who gets it.
Listen to your body. Build gradually. Be patient with yourself. Speed comes from showing up, not from rushing it.
And if you’re starting this in September when everything’s already shifting anyway… you’re already winning.
Happy running, friends!
With love, Coach Nik
