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Runner’s World June 2003
By Jeff Galloway

Speedwork without the Work
You can run faster and easier without standard speed sessions. Here’s how.

Thanks to microwaves and computers, airplanes and cell phones, life just keeps getting faster-and sometimes even easier. Too bad we can’t say the same about our running. Of course, traditional speed sessions will help you run faster. But running laps around a track is not the only way to improve your times. If you want to get faster, or just run easier and stronger, I’ve got three simple strategies you should try. All are based on the Boy Scout’s motto: “Be prepared.” The general idea is that the more you prepare both your body and mind for the demands of running fast, the faster and easier you’ll be able to run.

1. GO FOR THE GOLD
Sure, only a few of us have a realistic chance of competing for Olympic gold or breaking a world record, but don’t tell that to your mind. As far as it’s concerned, the sky’s the limit. More important, you can harness the tremendous power of your imagination to help you run faster and easier.
Once a week, during an easy run, let your mind take over. Imagine you’re running on the heels of Frank Shorter in the Munich Olympics. Or maybe you’re shoulder –to-shoulder with Paula Radcliffe and on a world-record pace.

Exercising your imagination while you exercise your body is more than just great fun. When you visualize yourself performing at a high level, your body responds in kind. You may not be matching strides with Khalid Khannouchi, but by visualizing yourself doing so, your body begins to mimic the action.

Visualization will help you improve your form, sustain an honest effort, and focus on the task at hand. The end result: When you actually do find yourself trying to outkick an opponent in the last 100 meters of the local 10-K, your body will be prepared to get the job done.

2. REHEARSE YOUR RACE
To race faster and stronger you need to rehearse your race mentally and physically.

*To prepare your mind: If you live near the race course, do a slow run over the course once or twice a month. As you run, tell yourself how confident you feel and devise mental strategies that you’ll use to overcome any race-day problems. If you don’t live near the course, you can do the same mental rehearsal by running on terrain that simulates some of the challenging parts of the race course and talking yourself through the rough spots.

*To prepare your body: If your race is local, run repeats of the more challenging segments of the course once a week. If your race is out of town, run repeats on terrain that simulates the hardest parts of the course. Start with one or two repeats, and build from there, depending on how long these segments are. Try to run the first repeat a little slower than race pace and the last repeat a little faster than race pace. By practicing the tough sections over a number of weeks, you’ll gain the muscle strength you need to execute them with ease during the race itself.

3. BE YOUR OWN COMPETITION
Even if you don’t plan on competing against others, you can race yourself on a predetermined course to gauge your stamina and speed. Just run the same course once a month and compare your finishing times. After 3 months, chart out a new course with different challenges. For example, switch from a 3-mile test course to a 4-miler.

Another way to race yourself: Run your course for time, then divide it into segments.
Once a week, run repeats on one segment of the course. After you’ve run repeats of each of the various sections twice, run the entire course again and compare your time.