Running Negative Splits as a Training Tool for Racing
It’s time to start aiming for a new PR
After more than a year of cancellations, races are finally opening up again, giving runners an opportunity to train and achieve new personal records (PRs). For runners who shifted to long mileage and base work over the pandemic, it’s time to lace up your track shoes and start thinking about speed work again. For those who’ve never done speed work, this is a chance to add a new challenge to your running. Not only does speed work improve racing performance and fitness, but it is also fun and can increase overall motivation.
There are many different types of speed training, from fartleks, hill sessions, time trials, intervals to track sessions of all kinds. One of my favorite workouts involves using negative splits. A negative split refers to running each segment of a run faster than the one before, whether it be each mile, hill repeat, or interval.
The technique enables a runner to feel confident speeding up even as fatigue sets in. It also has a strong training effect, increasing overall fitness. Most importantly, for racing, it can assist in knowing and understanding your pace and can help you understand when you are running a speed that cannot be maintained.
