Some athletes have the ability to hire and learn from a personal trainer, but most of us are training all by ourselves and that can be an incredibly difficult thing to do.
Don't worry though, as you can be your own personal trainer with a little discipline and a great speed-training routine.
In the beginning it may be best to have a family member or friend help you.
And of course you can always follow along with videos or use fitness DVDs to help.
Whatever you decide to do, you must make a commitment to train for at least 5 days each week.
At the beginning of your training, you need to focus on finding a comfortable running pace to build from.
Try to find a conversational pace, which basically means a pace at which you can run and talk at the same time.
This will be your starting point that you will gradually build from each week.
You should only Increase your pace around 10% from one week to the next week.
And make sure you are resting your body! You need to give your body time to rest and heal by making every fourth week an easy recovery week where you will switch between longer and shorter runs.
Once you have done this for at least three months you will have developed a good base.
On average you should be running around three hours per week.
It's not really important how you train or when, but the following will give you a good example of an effective starting routine that will help you build your speed-training foundation.
Day 1: For the first day, start by warming up for first 10 minutes.
Then, run at a fast pace for 20 minutes.
When you're finished, spend 10 minutes cooling down.
Day 2: This is a rest and recovery day.
That means that you shouldn't run on this day at all, but you can engage in light stretching if you think you need it.
Day 3: On the third day, you should be well-rested.
That means you can push it a little harder by running for 1 hour at a comfortable pace.
Day 4: On day four, spend 10 minutes warming up.
Then, sprint for 40 seconds and then jog for 20 seconds.
Repeat this for 12 cycles.
When you're finished, cool down for around 10 minutes.
Day 5: Day five is another rest and recovery day.
There will be no running and no stretching, either.
Just rest and nothing else.
Your body needs it.
Day 6: On this day, start slowly and run at a comfortable conversational pace for between 40-90 minutes.
Day 7: The last day of the week, spend the entire day resting and recovering.
No running and no stretching.
Treat yourself! You did great! Challenge Yourself Every now and then, especially if you are getting bored with your schedule, you can find new ways to challenge yourself.
There are tons of ways to do this, and you can look on the Internet or talk to friends to get ideas and inspiration.
Keep yourself hydrated, and always stretch and get loose before running.
The most important aspect to any workout is commitment.
Once you have started your speed-training regimen, focus and stay committed.
If you break your routine and you start telling yourself that you'll catch up on your training tomorrow, before you know it you will have undone all of your hard work and conditioning.
It is important that you pump yourself up, not bring yourself down.
Never tell yourself you're too tired, and never tell yourself you're too busy.
Run in the morning to get it over with, put this routine to good use and you'll see that running faster is something you can learn, after all.