There are a variety of myths that surround speed workouts in running. The most common is that you have to be a serious runner to benefit from speed workouts. Another is that you increase you risk of injury by speed training. Of course many people think that you have to have expensive equipment, such as top of the line watches, heart rate monitors, and fancy racing flats to run in for the speed workout to be worthwhile. None of this could be further from the truth. Running is a sport where you can easily measure your improvement and monitoring your progress can be very rewarding. Even if you never race, the strong feeling that you get when you cruise in at the end of your run is entirely different than the feeling when you have to stop and walk up a hill because you are not quite fit enough to make it to the top. By adding one speed workout a week to your running schedule, you should see increases in your speed within four weeks. If you are running five or six days a week you could even add another speed workout day, but you want the majority of your running to be done at a lower intensity. This is where the injury myth comes in. If you dramatically increase the intensity of your workouts without allowing your body sufficient time to recover, you greatly increase your body’s chance of injury. By smart planning, and not expecting results overnight, you are more likely to have an enjoyable training experience.When adding speed training to your workout, there are two ways to go about it. The first is to continue your road running and add speed elements to your normal run, the other is to go to the local track and work out there. One is just as effective as the other, it simply comes down to a matter of personal preference. Some people love running on the cushioned track surface and knowing exactly, down to the meter, how far they have ran, while other people are bored stiff at the track and need to hit the roads or trails. You may also mix these workouts up. You do not have to do the same speed workout each time, one week do hills, the next a tempo run. This will help alleviate boredom and give you an idea about what sorts of workout you enjoy.