Tips on running your first--or best--10K.

One of the great virtues of the sport of running is that it can be endlessly challenging for every participant. There is always a greater distance or a faster time just waiting for you to take it on. For beginners, just completing your first three-mile training run can be celebrated as a tremendous accomplishment. For seasoned runners, shaving time from a personal record is its own form of winning. As you age, your progress within age groups may account for new "personal bests." And for every runner, it is the running itself that is its own reward.

If you're relatively new to running, adding up mileage works physiological magic--increasing your stamina, your strength, and your speed. But if you've built a good base of about 25 to 30 miles a week or more and have been running in your comfort zone for a while, you will need to introduce some new training techniques and tweak your habits here and there to get faster. What you need is a well-rounded training program that incorporates speed work, long runs, and adequate rest and recovery. Here is a quick guide for improving your 10K race time.

Adding Speed Work

The human body adapts very specifically to the demands placed upon it. If you run long and slow, your body will become very efficient at running long and slow. For example, if you run a total of 40 miles per week at a constant pace, you will train the energy systems and muscles of your body to do this very well. However, if you never train at a faster pace, the energy systems necessary for that faster pace are left untrained. Studies have found that training aerobically (distance only) will not increase your anaerobic (sprinting) capabilities. However anaerobic training or speed work will increase both your anaerobic and aerobic capabilities. Here are some training techniques that can help you make training gains that result in faster times.

Intervals--Interval training or repetitions involves running fast paced laps on a track or a set course repeatedly with short rest periods between each run. For example, a 400-meter lap at a fast-for-you pace, six times with a slow recovery jog or walk between laps.

Fartlek--This odd word is Swedish for "speed play." Fartlek incorporates bursts of speed within your training run. The emphasis is on variety of terrain and grade of the course, and both duration and intensity of the speed interval. For example, during a two-mile run over hilly grade and open fields, include a half mile jog, then double your speed for three minutes, jog a little more, then run hard for one minute, and repeat in whatever combination of distance and pace you like.

Hills--Running hills is a very intense interval training technique. Find a hilly course or one challenging hill and run it as intervals--repetitions up hill with jogging or walking recoveries.

Sample Training Schedules to Beef Up Your Speed

Training schedules should be considered examples upon which to base your own training plans rather than rigid schedules to follow. Be flexible and build the techniques into your own training regimen.

The Big Caveat--Avoid Overtraining

Simply adding speed workouts into an established training regimen is a sure way to overtrain and risk overuse injury. You will need to start by keeping careful track of your mileage. Once you've established a record of mileage, you can use the standard 10% rule-of-thumb--never increase mileage or intensity by more than 10% per week. What this means is that if you are going to add speed workouts to your weekly program, then a reduction in total distance is necessary. You must subtract mileage to add speed workouts. Keep track of all the distance accumulated during speed training, including recovery and cool down and you will be able to adjust your mileage to accommodate speed work without overtraining.

If you turn up the heat too quickly you are going to get burned. Overtraining syndrome is the result of increaing your training demands faster than your body can adapt to the challenges--too much, too fast, too soon. You must develop a training schedule that meets your personal fitness level, not another runner's ability. Training stress that builds on your fitness base will result in training gains, given adequate rest and recovery. The road to faster times is littered with the injured whose training wasn't balanced by enough rest. To avoid a layoff, keep these guidelines in mind:

* Keep careful track of mileage. Make sure increases do not exceed 10% a week at the most.

* Reduce mileage when adding speed work. Intensity is more difficult to measure, but cut back so that total demands don't exceed a 10% increase.

* Never increase mileage and intensity at the same time.

* Alternate easy days with hard training days.

* Schedule rest days.

* Use crosstraining for relative rest on easy days.

Notes for the Advanced Runner

If you are an advanced runner with a sound training program and many road races under your belt, shaving a few seconds off your best race is not easily done. A well-seasoned runner must train much harder and longer to obtain modest improvements when compared to a less experienced runner. If your workout already consists of intervals, fartlek runs, and hill training, then looking at components like weight training, pace training, and your race-day strategy could be what you need.

Build strength--A stronger muscle can generate a more powerful contraction resulting in a longer stride or quicker turnover. Spending 30 to 40 minutes two or three times a week is all that is needed. Disregard the rumor that weight training will make you big and bulky and hinder your running potential. A weight training program designed for runners is much different from the workouts you find in muscle magazines. An appropriate program should include strengthening exercises for each muscle group with special attention given to the torso. Choose a resistance level that challenges you to complete six to 12 repetitions. Consult a fitness professional to assist in developing a strength training program that is right for you.

Set the pace--Pace training is an integral part of a training program and is crucial in order to maintain the proper race-pace. Once again, if you haven't trained your body to maintain a pace, it won't magically happen the day of a race. Start with pacing your interval workouts. If you are doing repeat 800 or 1,600 meters, then decide on a pace and try to hit the mark every time. You will find that at the beginning of the workout, you may have to hold back to keep from coming on too fast. As the workout progresses, you will have to work harder and harder to maintain the same pace. Once you become proficient on the track, try pace training on the roads or trails. Acquiring a strong sense of pace will directly influence your racing ability.

Race day strategies--Deciding on a race-pace is the most important aspect of a race strategy. The 10K is a tough distance in the sense that there is little room for errors in pace and strategy. If you go out too hard, you will drop off pace. If you go out too easy, the race is too short to make that time back up. The best race-pace is running at your lactate threshold. Lactate threshold pace is the fastest you can run without accumulating lactic acid in the muscles. Lactic acid accumulates in the muscles when demands for energy are greater than can be met by the aerobic system alone. Lactate threshold training is done by running at 85% of your race-pace for a distance just short of the race length. Lactate threshold training is a great way to put forth a maximum effort without needing excessive recovery time. The better trained you are, the higher your lactate threshold. Incorporating a run one day a week into your program that challenges you in this way will begin improving your lactate threshold, and will i ncrease your sustained intensity resulting in new personal records.

Days       Beginning Racer              Intermediate Racer

Sunday     Long run 6-8 miles           Long run 8-12 miles
Monday     Rest                         Rest or cross-train
Tuesday    Intervals (8X400 meters)     Intervals (8X400 meters)
Wednesday  4 easy miles                 6 easy miles
Thursday   3 mile fartlek               4 mile fartlek
Friday     3 easy miles or cross train  5-7 easy miles or cross train
Saturday   5 easy miles                 5-7 easy miles or cross train

(Greg Tymon, M.Ed., C.S.C.S., is in charge of rehabilitative services at a chiropractic and sports medicine clinic in East Stroudsburg, PA. He is also owner of Advanced Performance Training, a one-on-one sport specific strength and conditioning training service. Greg has coached Track and Field, and Strength and Conditioning at East Stroudsburg University for eight years.)