Increase Your Speed: The Best 30 Minute Interval Run

I am not a fast runner by any means. My race times consistently place me right in the middle of the pack. My pace per mile is pretty average, never earning me a first place finish but always ensuring that I don’t finish last.

Even so, I enjoy challenging myself and setting new goals each year. One of my goals is always to get faster to some extent. Whether it’s to PR in a race, set a personal mile record, or finish a marathon one minute faster, increasing speed always sounds so satisfying.

I am a consistent runner to say the least. My mind and body seem to be programmed so that no matter the circumstance, I head out the door and can count on them keeping me at the same pace. Consistency has been my friend with marathon training, but seems to present a rather daunting challenge any time I hope to beat a few minutes off my PR.

Two years ago though, I finally stumbled upon the secret weapon to increasing my dependable, consistent pace.

The answer came to me by accident. I decided to sign up for a spring half marathon while still in the depths of winter. The weather took a turn the following week, dumping quite a bit of snow on the state. After a few outdoor runs turned ice skating, I begrudgingly took my runs indoors to the treadmill.

The treadmill has not been my friend throughout my running career, so I desperately tried to plan runs that were as short as possible, while still getting the job done. In the end, the treadmill turned out to not be so dreadful, and even allowed me a bit of time for experimentation.

After a few months spent running indoors, the weather had finally cleared up and I was eager to run outside. I tested my newfound interval run strategy on the pavement, and was happy to see that they sparked the same results.

It seemed that I was indeed getting faster, and didn’t need to spend hours a week dedicating myself to speed work like I expected. I spent 30 minutes a week, tops, doing speed work, and ended up increasing my consistent go-to pace, as well as the length of time I could maintain my interval pace. Fast forward through 12 weeks of training, and I was able to take nearly 20 minutes off my half marathon PR on race day.

All of this accomplished in just one interval run per week, in less than 30 minutes. Today I wanted to share the workout I used with you!

30 Minute Interval Run

• Warm up: 800 meters (0.5 miles) at easy run pace
• Interval #1: 400 meters (0.25 miles) at 5k pace
• Recovery: 400m @ easy run pace
• Interval #2: 400m @ 5k pace – 10 seconds
• Recovery: 400m @ easy run pace
• Interval #3: 400m @ 5k pace – 20 seconds
• Recovery: 400m @ easy run pace
• Interval #4: 400m @ 5k pace – 30 seconds
• Recovery: 400m @ easy run pace
• Interval #5: 400m @ 5k pace – 40 seconds
• Recovery: 400m @ easy run pace
• Interval #6: 400m @ 5k pace – 50 seconds
• Cool Down: 800m (0.5 mile) recovery at easy run pace

For example, at this time my easy run pace was about 10:30/mile, with my 5k pace at 9:30/mile. With each interval I decreased my 5k pace by 10 seconds, making the intervals as follows: 9:30, 9:20, 9:10, 9:00, 8:50, 8:40. All of my recovery intervals were run at a 10:30 pace.

Each week I adjusted my paces as I improved. For example, on the second week, I started my interval run with a 5k pace at 9:25, the following week at 9:20, etc. Use your own paces to determine interval run speed, and see how your speed increases each week!

Happy running!