Improving Speed and 5K Training
Dear Coach: I am new to the running scene but have always been active by swimming, biking, aerobics, etc. I have my long run up to ten miles but my average speed is slow. How can I increase my speed? It seems that if I push harder, I get a stitch in my side. Doug

Dear Doug: I think the stitches are happening because you are trying to do too much too soon. Even with a great aerobic base, you cannot jump into speed work. I recommend the following workouts to prepare your body for speed work. Once or twice a week, run two to three miles of aerobic intervals doing the 15 to 45 method. After warming up for at a mile, run a 15 second surge (but make sure not to sprint), then jog easily for 45 seconds, do another 15 second surge, recovery for 45 seconds, etc. This should get your ligaments and joints ready for speed work while helping you work on your breathing. After six to eight weeks of aerobic intervals, you will be ready to start anaerobic threshold training.

Dear Coach: I am 23 years old and have just started to compete at 5K races. I am currently clocking in at 20:50-21:00 minutes. I run three to five times per week and each time I run three to five miles. I have been told that adding track workouts will improve my time but also wonder if I need to work on breathing technique. I always feel like I am huffing and puffing more than most. I always seem to start out at a 6:15 first mile and then slow down from there. Kim

Dear Kim: I think two things will help your racing. First, you probably need variety in your training. I would suggest that you slowly build up over the next few months to the point where you are doing one long run of eight to ten miles. This will increase leg strength. This run should be a purely conversational effort, involving no huffing and puffing. Second, incorporate some speed work to help simulate race effort. You are starting your races too fast. Two possible workouts based on your times are three one-mile repeats at a 7:00 minute per mile pace with a one-lap jog recovery between. The second involves six 800-meter repeats at current 5K pace or 6:40 mile (3:20 for the 800). You might start with the miles for a few weeks and then switch to the 800s. I think you will find that you will be better able to sustain the effort and will have a better feeling for race pace.

Dear Coach: Does biking help my running? And if so, does running help my biking? Brent

Dear Brent: Not really, even though it seems that way. Cross training has two benefits. The first is that biking will help you be in better overall physical condition but that does not mean it will make you a faster runner. Biking also helps some runners to avoid overtraining by allowing time to recover. However, the basic principle of exercise physiology is that you need to train the muscles you use in a particular event. As you know, you use different muscles running than you do biking. To improve your running, you need to work your running muscles. To improve your biking, you need to work your biking muscles.

Kirt West is a private coach for motivated adult runners. Questions can be sent to Kirt West.