be runners who speed past you in a race; as long as you finish within the allotted time, it doesn't matter how fast you run (or walk) the course.I feel stuck in my comfort zone. How will I ever get faster?Once a week, run intervals. First warm up, then pick

intuitive understanding of the most fluent way to move through the water," says swimming coach Terry Laughlin. "But anyone can learn this fluency with a few simple drills."Laughlin suggests the four below. With each, swim short intervals (25 metres or so

of the distances. It is time to introduce speed into your sessions.  ➊ Interval training is very effective for developing your fitness and speed. Begin to increase the speed for short intervals, eg 1-5 minutes.  Depending on your aim you could have a short recovery

be fairly easy for someone who doesn’t currently focus on this kind of training – will produce a nine-minute improvement in your marathon time. You can use two special sessions to increase your LTP: run 10-minute intervals at your current 10K pace (do two

have heart-rate zones you can set to keep your run at the right level, and at the top of the scale, your HRM can act as a virtual coach. We tested eight models from across the spectrum.Dunlop Velocity, £60 Features 3 target HR zones, interval timer

with lactic acid build-up when running faster. I do pyramid sets of intervals on an undulating running route of about seven miles. After a 10-minute warm up, do a one-minute interval at race pace or 70-80 per cent of your maximum pace, recover for 60

facility, to save wearing two watches. Some models also have a countdown alarm, which is useful if you’re doing a structured session and want to know when to start and finish your intervals and recovery. Another useful stopwatch function is splits, which

?Cardiac/heart-rate drift - on long runsDo two semi-long runs = one long one?Should I extend a 10K race into a long run?Speedwork10K training - tempo pace vs hills and speedworkImproving - tips for increasing speed and making hills look easy, pleaseIntervals - what paces

but to continue to the top. And that you’d know for sure when you reached it.Not being the best hill runner in the world, I thought I’d use some strategy. I opted for a combination of heart-rate monitoring and run/walk intervals. My thinking (and I use the term

, £140 Suunto claims that the T4 is a personal trainer on your wrist. As you run it measures your heart rate, the intervals between heart beats and the fluctuation between intervals. It then displays the effectiveness of your workout on a one