3 effort-based speed sessions to put some spring in your step

It can be fun to keep track of data and know the specifics of how fast your legs are moving, but getting hung up on numbers can also make running stressful, rather than fun. If you’re looking to add a little pep to your step this season but don’t want to obsess over hitting exact paces, try one of these effort-based sessions. They work on road or trail, and will help you learn to listen to your body as you move.

Pace-change sprints

These pace-change sprints will fine-tune your acceleration and deceleration skills on any terrain, and can be tacked onto the beginning or end of an easy training run of any length. Look for a path roughly 100 metres long (your best guess is fine) and divide it into thirds, marking each section or noting a landmark.

Run at a medium-hard effort to start, hard for the second section, then medium-hard to finish; walk or jog back to the start and repeat as many times as you like.

Out-and-back repeats

For these out-and-back repeats, mark a starting point on the trail or pavement. After you’ve finished your first tough three-minute interval, mark your endpoint. After your recovery, run your next hard interval from the endpoint back to the start, with the goal of making it even a few steps past the point where you began.

Warm up with 10 to 15 minutes of easy running.

Start with 6 x 3 minutes hard effort, 90 seconds rest or easy running between each one.

Cool down with 10 minutes of easy running.

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Simple intervals

For this workout, you’ll really need to focus on effort-based cues to know if you’re running at the correct pace. Ideally, you should run each repeat so that the last 20-30 seconds feel tough–like you really want to stop or slow down, and you have to dig in mentally to maintain your effort. This is difficult to do out of the gate, so use the first set of intervals to get comfortable, and then stick to that for the rest of the workout.

Warm up with 15-20 minutes of easy running.

Run 2-4 sets of 3 minutes, 1:30 rest; 2 minutes, 1 minute rest; 1 minute, 2 minutes rest.

Cool down with 10-15 minutes of easy running.

Remember to always follow a harder workout or speed session with an easy running or rest day.