The Need for Speed?
One of the questions put to the coaches recently was “why do speed sessions, such as 100 metre relays or 20 * 1 minute repeats with 1 minute recoveries, when most people are training for longer distances?”
Well first of all speed sessions are integral to helping you get faster as a runner and also in improving your running form. Elite athletes running from 5k to Ultra Marathons will include such sessions in their repertoire.
As a club we have a lot of members, all of whom have different goals. For some its getting better at the 5k Parkrun, others it may be doing a 10k or half marathon, whereas some are only interested in longer and more extreme events like marathons or ultra marathons. For that reason we try to keep the training sessions as varied as possible and hence include the speed sessions to provide a well rounded and comprehensive package that will help members over all distances.
In order to give more detail on speed sessions one of our coaches, Richard O’Grady, has written an excellent breakdown of what they are and how they benefit you. It’s well worth a read. It’s now on the new Coaches Page or by clicking on the following link – Speedwork Sessions – Why?