In the September 2006 issue of Washington Running Report, I discussed how to run a fast race by either running an even pace for the entire race or a negative split where your pace for the second half of the race is slightly faster than the first half. Runners were advised to avoid blasting through the first mile because nine out of ten times the result is a "crash and burn" race where you slow down too much at the end. Running an even pace is not as easy as it sounds--in order to do this a runner has to develop a self- awareness of effort and how far to push oneself. The following are a couple of workouts designed to help you get faster while also helping you develop this self-awareness.

The first workout is a series of mile repeats running at your anaerobic threshold with a very short recovery. For those training with a heart monitor, the workout looks like this. After warming up for at least a mile, run a mile at 80 to 85 percent of maximum heart rate using the Karvonen formula, jog until your heart drops to 70 percent, run a second mile at 80 to 85 percent effort, jog until your heart rate drops to 70 percent, and run a third mile at 80 to 85 percent effort. For those who do not use a heart monitor, your 80 to 85 percent effort is approximately your 15K or 10 mile race pace that is 10 to 15 seconds slower than your 10K race pace. Your recovery between miles should be a 200 meter (half lap) jog-recovery. Make sure that you do at least a one-mile cool-down run after the mile repeats.

Although it seems counterintuitive, you will be able to run a faster 10K race by training at an effort slightly slower than your 10K race pace. Training at your anaerobic threshold reduces the likelihood of injury during speed work and also keeps you from tearing down your body too much.

The second workout is a variation of the first. It is a 20- minute nonstop anaerobic threshold run. Again, warm up at least a mile, and then, using your heart monitor, run for 20 minutes between 80 to 85 percent keeping your heart rate above 80 percent and below 85 percent. This is a tougher workout than the mile repeats because it requires a lot of focus to sustain the effort. For those not using the heart monitor, run the entire 20 minutes at your 15K/10 mile race pace. If you try to run this workout at your 10K race pace, chances are you will not be able to finish it. This training will help you maintain a focused effort for the entire race in a 10K, something easier said than done.

After doing these workouts for a few weeks, you will start developing some internal discipline in your pacing that you can apply in a race setting. In the first mile of the race, commit yourself to going out at the same effort you associate with the mile repeats or the 20-minute threshold run. Because of the adrenaline associated with a race, chances are that you will probably end up running faster than your 15K/10 mile race pace and that your pace will be very close to your ideal 10K pace. If you do this, you should be able to run the entire race at an even pace with the result that you will have a very fast 10K.

Coach Kirt West is a private coach for motivated adult runners. Questions can be sent to him at kirtwest@comcast.net.