Interval training, repetitions or speed work are some terms of training used by athletes when they are planning for a race.
A majority of coaches when they train athletes who want to lower a personal best time, opt for running at paces quicker than or around their goal pace.
When athletes are preparing themselves mentally to run at those speeds it helps stimulate the recruitment of fast-twitch muscle fibres.
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In a previous interview with NN Running Team, Eliud Kipchoge said that his preparation for the upcoming Berlin Marathon included loading, doing endurance long runs, endurance speed walk and tempo runs.
“The first part actually is, when I say loading and maybe endurance that in long runs, we are concentrating on running for long. When we go to track for speed, then we are actually doing speed for a long time. We are doing long workouts.
“In the second part, we were doing long runs but a little bit fast. We are doing track sessions and tempo runs, a little bit shorter and faster. This is to prepare the muscles actually for the big day,” Kipchoge noted earlier.
According to World Athletics, fast-twitch muscle fibres are used by athletes for short, explosive movements.
If one has a higher proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibres it increases their top-end running speed while a higher proportion of slow-twitch muscles increase their overall endurance.
While training, slower running improves one's aerobic fitness, however, it does not stimulate the body to produce fast-twitch muscle fibres in the same way speed training does.
Athletes are also advised to be patient and build up to any speed training they do as if one tries it too early without preparing their body through some light running, one might suffer muscle injuries.
When one also starts their first speed training, they are also advised that alongside lighter running one should include strength and conditioning exercises for calves, quads and hamstrings.
The Berlin Marathon, one of the most prestigious running events in the world, is scheduled to take place on September 25 in Germany.
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