Why can't I run fast?

Question

I can jog (4-6 miles, three times a week), but I am getting sick of my sorry little shuffle. I have long legs, but man oh man do they resist being pumped. Why is that? How can I start making myself use the full extension of my long legs?

Answer 1

dont listen to Pac.  You are clearly a distance runner and you can increase speed. Don't give up.  IF you are doing the same workout everytime, I am not suprised you aren't picking up speed. Cross training is crucial if you want to see improvements in speed.  For example, maybe replace one of your long distance runs with doing some hill sprints.  Find a trail with a hill, and just sprint up it as fast as you can. Do this 4-5 times or more, if you can.  Another thing that will help is simple training on the track. Sprint as fast as you can for 100 meters, then jog 100 meters. Then sprint, 100 and then jog. Do this for 4-8 laps.  Good luck!!

Answer 2

Watch the NGC channel sometime when they show Cheetahs and  other animals,do like they do,but with 2 legs obviously,i believe there stride is 6 to 8 ft while running,they run like 60 mph,but it's interesting to copy off of them,i did and it improved my speed,no lie,i mean this was yrs ago when i was in school and it really did work,I'm not messing with you.Pretend like you are one,i bet your time will be faster.

Answer 3

Maybe because your not meant to run track.

Answer 4

Let me get this straight, you want your body to go faster but you also want to dictate the manner in which it accomplishes this??

What you need to do is this:

1.  Run 30% of your weekly mileage 1 day, 20% 2 days, and 10% 3 days each week.  Rest 1 day.  Do this such that you alternate hard and easy days.  Long & short days.

2.  Then substitute 1 or 2 days with speed workouts at the track after you've adjusted to the new schedule.

3.  Let your legs work naturally with the rest of your body.

Good Luck

Answer 5

Running secret: longs legs aren't as advantageous as you think.  It makes sense that (stride distance) x (stride length) = speed, but you don't want to intentionally lengthen your stride.

If you try to overstride you'll land harder on your heels, leading to a less efficient stride, and possibly injury!  You should be around 180 strides per minute for just about any speed (jog or sprint).  This puts you at the proper stride length, always.  Your stride will naturally get longer when you run faster.  This seems counterintuitive, but watch some Olympians on youtube with a stop watch, you'll see about 180 strides/minute on all of them.

OK, so how to get faster?  It depends what you mean.  The only way to work on "true" speed (like top end sprinting speed) is with very hard sprints with full recovery.  Try 150 meter sprints in sets of 3 or 4, and build from there.  150 meters is short enough that you're specifically using phosphate-based energy, not using your anaerobic energy system (forms of lactate acid).  If you already have that 180 strides/minute thing down, you could also try running sprints uphill.  Frank Shorter (former Olympian) once said that hill-work is speed-work in disguise.  Either way you'll be strengthening the fast-twitch muscle fibers that you may have been ignoring.

But if you mean "faster," as in better race times.  You probably need some longer intervals with shorter rest to stress how your body handles lactate acid and its byproducts.  I'd need to know more about your running to tell you what to do.  But I can tell you, that with an aerobic base of running three times a week you could see SIGNIFICANT improvement here.  Improving your "true speed" is a little bit more difficult.