Run easy jogs during which you can talk
Hello again, fellow runners!
My third tip is counterintuitive but essential: you have to run slowly to run fast. Not necessarily fast like Letesenbet Gidey or Eliud Kipchoge. Just faster and faster – whatever your pace.
To raise your speed ceiling, you need to run fast, once or twice a week, with a tempo or intervals. But to work on your speed, you need to be well rested and ready to push when it counts. Hence the importance of running slowly the rest of the time.
At least 80% of your jogs should be at an easy enough pace to let you have a full conversation and tell detailed anecdotes, without being out of breath. As a rule of thumb, it means running at a perceived exertion of 3 or 4 out of 10, or ~1:30/km slower than your current 5K pace.
This is how you will develop an efficient heart and stronger, more endurant muscle fibers, without getting tired. The longer and more often you do it, the better prepared you will be to keep a steady pace without fading.
So during your jogs, if you ask yourself if you are running faster than necessary, slow down, because it is almost certainly the case.
Happy training, and see you again soon for my next tip!