Steve Haywood Health & Fitness

I have been struggling with a right Achilles tendon problem for some years now which severely curtailed my training last year in particular. However, after some physio treatment and advice and an ongoing sports massage programme I have started to build my training and mileage up again, very tentatively.

My wonderful Garmin is friend and enemy, it gives me all the statistics I could possibly need but also informs me I am running slowly, which I know, but I don’t like being told. So, as a Personal Trainer what would I tell a client in the same position:-” start doing some speed work”. Speed sessions are as varied as you want to make them and I enjoy all aspects but I believe that training on the track is one of the hardest but most effective ways of increasing speed.

The first problem may be access to a municipal track but I am fortunate to have Thornes Park in Wakefield, for £2.80 I can run all day around the track and usually have it to myself. So I have begun my track training programme and it feels great. My first phase is simply to get my mind and body tuned to moving out of my comfort zone and get my fast twitch muscle fibres operating, in other words moving quicker.

The sessions I am currently doing are thought out along the lines of where do I want to be in 3 months, the answer is I would like to run 30 secs to 1 minute quicker per mile at 5k and 10k. Therefore my speed during my sessions will be at the speed I would like to attain. There is an obvious apparent flaw with this – or is there? We should all be able to run 200 metre efforts a little quicker than 800 metre efforts, this is true. But in todays track session I did 10 x 200 metres with a 200 recovery, there is no way I would contemplate 10x 800. So I hope you see that your future race pace is your guide pace for most efforts on the track.

Thornes Park Stadium, Wakefield

If you are contemplating having a go here are some guidelines. Firstly you do not need spikes, road shoes are better for most of us. Train with a like minded friend if you can for support and to induce a slight competitive edge. Use a watch of some description as it is extremely useful to log times and know where you are. Have the session planned before you step on the track and try to complete it, however, use your common sense and if you have set the bar too high tone it down. Always warm up and cool down and stretch ( have warm gear available unless it is a hot day).

For track novices here is a suggestion for your first session. Still in tracksters etc do a couple of laps of the track easy and during this time find out where all the various markers are that you will need, on the next two laps stride down the straights and jog the bends ( a stride is a comfortable increase in pace, you should not have to stop with hands on knees at the end of it but be able to keep jogging). You will have warmed up for about a mile, so then take off tracksters etc (unless it is cold) and jog for 200 metres to the 200 metre start line. Set the watch and take off at your pre determined speed to the finish line and record your time, it is usually better to have under achieved at first otherwise it can be very hard to complete the session. Now you will have a register in your head of what it is like to run 200 metres at your desired pace. Jog around to the 200 metre start and off you go again, try this for 4 or 5 times and then put your tracksters back on and jog a couple of laps and then stretch. If everything feels ok the following day then seek some advice on how to build up and make the most of your £2 80p.

Track is not just for those doing athletics. Some of the worlds best distance road runners use the track as part of their programmes.