In addition to making you a better runner, speed work is a great way to add fresh motivation into your routine. These workouts allow you to add or subtract mileage/minutes depending on your skill level and walk during recoveries if necessary.
1) Classic ladder
Start by running a mile warm-up. Then run 400 meters, followed by 800m/1600m/800m/400m with half the distance for each recovery. Run at your 5K pace. Finish with a half-mile cool down.
2) Distance progress
Run a mile warm up, followed by a 1×1600 meters with 800 meters recovery, then run a 2x800m with 400m recovery, and then a 3x400m with a 200m recovery. Finish with a half-mile cool down.
3) 5-4-3-2-1 minutes
Run a mile warm up. Run five minutes at 5K pace and recover for five minutes, run four minutes at 5K pace and recover for four minutes, etc. Finish with a half-mile cool down. This a great workout that you can build on if you have more time.
4) Double tempo
Follow this pattern: Start by running a 10 minute warm-up, then run 15 minutes at tempo pace followed by a five-minute recovery; run 15 minutes at tempo pace followed by a five-minute cool down. A tempo pace should be run where you are able to speak a few words at a time comfortably, but not able to carry on a conversation.
5) Straights and curves
Start by running a mile warm-up. For eight laps, run a 5K pace on the straight part of the track and run a recovery pace on the curves. Finish with a mile cool down.
