Your Fast Finish
Do you sometimes fade to the finish of your run or workout? Are you used to getting passed at the end of your races?
Well, it doesn’t have to be this way. It doesn’t matter if you’re running a 5 hour marathon or a 5 minute mile— finishing with a flourish takes practice and discipline.
A good kick (finishing sprint) is not a talent that some people get and others don’t. Anyone can learn to find some speed at the end of a race.
Here are some ways to start practicing in your training runs and workouts.
Plan On It
I used to think I just didn’t have a very good kick. But the main problem was my mindset. I’d been hoping to have some gas left in the tank at the end of the race. However, a strong, fast finish is meant to be planned. It’s meant to be a decision made in advance, not something we hope will happen, but rather that we intend to do.
Start with the End in Mind
We can plan to finish fast but ruin all our chances by starting the race too fast. If we have nothing left in the tank, we aren’t going to be able to finish strong. Our plan to finish strong should influence us to be disciplined early in the race.
Finishing strong isn’t about fitness level, it depends on pacing ourselves and measuring our effort, saving some energy with the intention of finishing strong.
Make it a Habit
The best way to develop a strong finish in races is to finish strong in workouts and runs. Our slowest paces should always be at the start of a run. It’s okay if the end of a regular run is fairly similar in pace to the start but it should NOT be slower.
For interval training, “Last One Best One” (LOBO) is my philosophy. And even for easy recovery runs, we should end knowing we could run faster, even if we choose not to.
Practice Workouts
Ladder Down is a simple interval workout I designed specifically to help runners learn to finish strong. (click here to read a detailed description!)
Out & Back Run “out” from a starting point for as long as you like (time yourself), then turn around return home and see how much faster you can cover the distance. Make sure you run into the wind, or the net uphill on the way out so that conditions on the return will help you execute the faster return.
Fast Finish Finish the end of all your easy runs with a few minutes of faster running. It doesn’t have to be “all out” and it doesn’t have to be a long time. But even doing the last 1-5minutes slightly faster in every run will help you develop the habit of finishing strong. You’ll always have a strong finish in the back of your thoughts.
Progression Run Mentally break up your run into easy, moderate, somewhat hard, and hard sections, and transition through those effort levels as you go. For a 4mile or 4km run, you could assign an increase in effort with each mile or km that you run.
The Best Feeling
With consistent practice finishing strong in runs and workouts, we can develop a habit of “saving” a little extra energy for the finish, all the time. No more fading to the finish or being forced to stop and walk. It feels great to have the strength to pass some other runners while approaching the finish line.
Nicole Sifuentes is a full-time Running Coach for adults of all ages and abilities. She is a former professional runner and 2-time Olympian, and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Read more about her services, and schedule your free coaching consultation.
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