{"id":22561,"date":"2015-11-06T11:15:21","date_gmt":"2015-11-06T16:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=22561"},"modified":"2016-07-14T16:03:50","modified_gmt":"2016-07-14T20:03:50","slug":"tips-to-run-faster-more-efficiently","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/tips-to-run-faster-more-efficiently\/","title":{"rendered":"Want to Run Faster? Here’s How to Do It"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"5
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There\u2019s no doubt about it: Running<\/a> can be hard. But it doesn\u2019t have to be!<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal of running faster,\u201d says professional marathoner Stephanie Rothstein-Bruce<\/a>, \u201cis to run more economically and use the least amount of energy that you can.\u201d<\/p>\n

This becomes particularly important in long-distance running. After you\u2019ve run 20 miles, the last thing you want to do is expend any extra energy \u2014 you don\u2019t have much of it left! With a few smart tweaks to your routine<\/a>, you can run much more efficiently with the energy you have \u2014 without having to pop an extra gel.<\/p>\n

5 Tips to Run Faster, Starting Now<\/h3>\n

1. Roll Out.<\/b><\/p>\n

You may foam roll after<\/i> your workouts, but if you\u2019re not foam rolling before, your body may not be ready for the workload you\u2019re about to subject it to, says Daniel Viera, USA Triathlon Full Throttle Endurance<\/a> coach. \u201cMost of the time, the muscles can handle it,\u201d he says, \u201cbut you want to make sure the tendons, ligaments and joints are ready.\u201d Be sure to hit the glutes, hamstrings, quads, hips, calves and IT bands, spending 30 to 60 \u00a0seconds on each muscle group before launching into your dynamic warm-up<\/a>.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 5 Foam Rolling Moves You Aren’t Doing (But Should!)<\/a><\/p>\n

2. Drill, baby, drill!<\/b><\/p>\n

Running fast isn\u2019t about just running forward in a straight line. Drills such as butt kicks<\/a>, high knees<\/a> and Russian kicks<\/a> (resting on one leg and kicking the other) increase proprioception (one\u2019s perception of his or her body and the strength of effort being used in movement) and coordination, says Viera. He recommends beginning the drills slowly and increasing speed and velocity as you get comfortable with them. The payoff: Your body will learn to fire the correct muscles at the proper time.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong>\u00a06 Core Exercises to Make You a Stronger, Faster Runner<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Mix up the pace. <\/b><\/p>\n

Running your fastest speed at every workout isn\u2019t the key to getting faster, says Viera. As counterintuitive as it sounds, running slower can actually help you get faster! He suggests mixing things up with a slow endurance run, a tempo run and some speed work<\/a> at a track at least once a week. \u201cWorking on your heart, lungs and muscles is the key to becoming a more efficient runner.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> A Runner’s Guide to Speedwork<\/a><\/p>\n

4. Make your form work for you.<\/b><\/p>\n

Guilty of swinging your arms across your body when you run? \u201cThe side to side motion is wasted energy for your arms as it forces your hips to counter the motion instead of powering you in a forward motion,\u201d says Rothstein-Bruce (who runs a 2:29 marathon<\/a>, so she knows a thing or two about running efficiently). She recommends practicing seated arm drills by sitting with the legs at 90 degrees and swinging your arms back like you\u2019re beating a drum<\/a>. And when it comes to \u201crunning tall,\u201d imagine someone is pulling you up by your hair while maintaining a slight forward lean.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/b> 5 Expert Tips for Proper Running Form<\/a><\/p>\n

5. Get new sneakers!<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/b>Often, pounding the pavement in old sneakers can lead to injury, says Viera, and injured muscles are certainly not as efficient. Make sure to get fitted for new sneakers every 300 to 500 miles. And be sure to properly break them in by walking for a few miles before lacing up for a long run. Check out\u00a0how to find the perfect running shoe here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What steps do you take to run more efficiently? Tell us below!<\/i><\/p>\n

Originally posted December\u00a02013. Updated November\u00a02015.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wasting energy on your run without even knowing it? These tips from a pro runner and a triathlon coach will help you run faster and more efficiently. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,24,6],"tags":[288,289,108,341,357],"class_list":["post-22561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cardio","category-exercise","category-fitness","tag-cardio","tag-exercise","tag-running","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2running"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22561\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}