Useful Drills
There are ways to improve your running form that don't take a lot of time. Consider the following simple drills to make you a better runner. First, at a track or on the grass, measure off 20 to 30 yards. Warm up with an easy run of ten to fifteen minutes, then start:
High knee kicks. Moving at a moderate pace, cover the distance with your arms swinging high and your knees going as high as you can get them. Jog back to the start and do a second repetition.
Butt kicks. As you cover the 30 yards, bring your legs up in the back, trying to touch your buttocks with your feet. Swing your arms. Do two reps.
Skipping. Just like you did when you were a kid. Go as high as you can. Do two reps.
Walking lunges. Put your leg out as far as it will go with the knee directly over the ankle. Cover 15 yards. Repeat twice.
Single-leg hops. Hop 20 to 30 yards on one leg, then hop back to the start on the other. Start with one rep and build up to two. Hopping backward is a great workout for your hamstrings.
I heard someone talking about doing fartlek workouts. What is a fartlek?
Fartlek is a Swedish word that translates to “speed play.” During a run, usually by yourself, you pick up the pace significantly for very short periods, usually twenty seconds. During a forty-five-minute run, you might do ten to twelve fartlek bursts to improve your aerobic capacity.
If you have access to a track, that is an ideal surface for speed workouts. Tracks are usually made of rubber or similar material and are very easy on the legs. A typical track is 400 meters around (roughly a quarter mile), so it's easy to know your distances. You can add variety to your workouts with speed sessions, tempo runs, and fartleks, among others.
The length of your tempo run in training will depend on the distance you will cover in your race. If your triathlon features a 5K for the run, your tempo sessions should be no more than fifteen to twenty minutes. Never do more than one hard session per week.
Hill workouts are tough, but they provide very effective training. Find a hill that takes one to two minutes to climb and run it at a hard (but not all-out) pace. Jog back to the start as a recovery period. Start with two to three repeats on the hill and build up to eight reps.
