3 Track Workouts Designed for All Levels

Doing long, steady-state aerobic runs—that is, runs at a pace where you can comfortably hold a conversation—is essential for improving aerobic endurance, but engaging in workouts that are short and more challenging is equally as important.

Speed training is a form of strength training. Fast-paced running in short intervals (Think: sprint and tempo workouts) is a form of anaerobic exercise that recruits fast-twitch muscle fibres, which help generate short bursts of energy. Anaerobic training taps into your body's ability to break down carbs in the absence of oxygen.

Improving your anaerobic capacity boosts your muscles' threshold for fatigue—making track or speed workouts a great way to get stronger.

Because track workouts usually entail short, intense bouts of running, each interval is followed by a generous rest period to allow for ample recovery before your next interval. Taking that rest helps you maintain a consistent effort throughout the duration of the workout. In many ways, speed work mimics HIIT training, since track workouts are often segmented into work/rest blocks.

For each workout, you will determine pace using a rate of perceived exertion, or RPE, scale of one to 10—one being the easiest and 10 being maximal effort.

Not only can running based on how you feel help make running more enjoyable and sustainable, it can allow you to tune into how your body is feeling mid-workout. You can even detect day-to-day changes your body may experience due to stress, fatigue and the weather. Recording notes on a daily basis in a journal can help you keep track of your workouts, effort and recovery—all of which can be helpful to refer back to as you progress through your training cycle.

For example, what feels like a seven out of 10 effort today may feel like a nine out of 10 effort tomorrow. Similarly, what felt like a nine out of 10 several weeks ago (before you started training) may now feel like a seven out of 10.

If you are familiar with your paces, or have run a race recently, consider employing some of these suggested paces on the track:

• 9 RPE corresponds to your 1 mile race pace.
• 8 RPE corresponds to your 5K race pace.
• 7 RPE corresponds to your 10K race pace.
• 6 RPE corresponds to your tempo pace.
• Anything below 6 RPE corresponds to your aerobic endurance training, also known as your conversational pace.

(Related: Experts Say This Is the Top Recovery Drink To Have After a Workout)

Incorporating one of the three track workouts listed below into your current training cycle can help you improve your speed. For best results, supplement your track workouts with one to two slower conversational-paced aerobic runs and one to two strength-training sessions each week, and prioritise high-quality foods, adequate sleep, stretching, foam rolling and other forms of muscular recovery.

Success comes with structure. That's why each workout strategically increases in volume (or, how many miles you run each session) and does so incrementally in two-week blocks over the course of six weeks.

Don't have access to a track? Make the world your track. Find an enclosed space like a local park, a football pitch, or closed-off streets so you can run fast without having to worry about traffic. Then, use a running watch or the Nike Run Club App on your phone to track your distance. Or, just estimate the distance—every workout has an estimated duration for each interval length.

Start each session with a five- to 10-minute jog in order to promote circulation to your joints and tissues. Then, perform the seven-part dynamic warm-up listed below. Use these mobility exercises to prime your joints and the activation exercises and running technique drills to increase the rate your muscles can contract and create force. Start at a conversational-pace jog for five to 10 minutes.

1. Hamstring scoop to knee hug: 5 reps on each leg before switching legs
2. Quad pull to reverse lunge: 5 reps on each leg before switching legs
3. Hip CARs (controlled articular rotations): 5 reps on each leg before switching legs
4. Single-leg standing clamshells: 10 reps on each leg before switching legs
5. Single-leg controlled landing: 5 reps on each leg before switching legs
6. Pogo hops: 20 hops
7. A-skips: 20–30 seconds, alternating sides

Once you've completed your warm-up, change into your speed shoes (if you have them) and get ready to run fast.

Congrats on completing your Speed Run. Now it's time to let your body recover. Take a light, five- to 10-minute jog, and then do some static stretches or Yoga poses (like Cobra pose or Downward-Facing Dog)—bonus points if you foam roll.

Words by Darren Tomasso, Nike Well Collective Trainer, NASM-PES and USATF-certified running coach