Speed Training by BPM (Beats Per Minute)

In order to run faster, you have to RUN FASTER.  Shedding minutes off of your race time involves doing fartleks (Swedish for "speed play") involving speed workouts, intervals, and repeats.  Whatever workout you choose to do will most likely involve intervals of running at a speed slightly to moderately faster than you regular "easy" pace.  You know, the pace you would keep if you were just going out for a nice morning jog around your neighborhood without keeping time.


Once you decide on the work out drill you want to do, you will need to figure out your current "easy" pace per mile.  Your interval training speed will be at a pace that is 10 seconds to 30 seconds faster than your "easy" pace.  The goal interval speed you choose will depend on how hard you want to push yourself and how much faster you are trying to get.

Unless you are one of the lucky runners who can just feel that they are going the right speed (some people have this skill; I definitely do not), you will need some way of tracking your speed to ensure that you are hitting your goals.  This can be done is several ways:

  • Treadmill
  • Running/Sports watch that tracks pace/speed
  • Choreographed playlist by bpm

I am not one of those "naked" runners.  I have always run with an iPod or other mp3 player and I always will.  I enjoy feeling the music and using it help keep me on pace and hitting with an even foot strike over and over again.  When I am running to work out stress or aggression, a good rock song can help me work out that emotion.  If I need a little pick-me-up, nothing gets me smiling faster than running to U2's "Beautiful Day."

In addition, I rely heavily on my playlist for my speed training.  Since I am personally extremely averse to the treadmill (only succumbing to it if I really have to) and not really loving looking down at my Garmin every second to ensure I am running fast enough, I depend on my specially designed playlist to keep me at running at the right speeds.  It literally allows me to tune out and not focus so hard on the workout itself.  As long as I am running to the beat of the song, I know what speed I am running.

Choreographing a playlist for a training run or race is highly personal, as only you know what your current speed is, what you would like your training pace to be, and what songs would motivate you to make your targets.  I know it sounds a little complicated, but I promise you that it is easier than it sounds.  Here is a basic example if your "easy" pace is 10 minutes/mile (6mph).

(If the average song is about 3 minutes, this work out would be approximately 30 minutes.)

  • Song 1:    10:30 minutes/mile = 05.71 mph = 145 bpm (WarmUp)
  • Song 2:    10:00 minutes/mile = 06.00 mph = 150 bpm (Easy Pace)
  • Song 3:    09:30 minutes/mile = 06.32 mph = 155 bpm (Speed Pace)
  • Song 4:    10:00 minutes/mile = 06.00 mph = 150 bpm (Easy Pace)
  • Song 5:    09:30 minutes/mile = 06.32 mph = 155 bpm (Speed Pace)
  • Song 6:    10:00 minutes/mile = 06.00 mph = 150 bpm (Easy Pace)
  • Song 7:    09:30 minutes/mile = 06.32 mph = 155 bpm (Speed Pace)
  • Song 8:    10:00 minutes/mile = 06.00 mph = 150 bpm (Easy Pace)
  • Song 9:    09:30 minutes/mile = 06.32 mph = 155 bpm (Speed Pace)
  • Song 10:  10:30 minutes/mile = 05.71 mph = 145 bpm (Cool Down)

Keep in mind that this is just an example and there are countless different speed work outs, ladder work outs, and interval/repeat work outs.  If you need ideas, be sure and check out the Runner's World page on speed workouts.  It is a great resource.  You can make your playlists as long or as short as you need, depending on your training run or race distance.  Having a choreographed playlist is especially helpful in long distance training runs or races because it helps you focus on maintaining good form, proper breathing, and mental endurance without also having to worry about pace.

Now it is time to get started on your list!  Below is a basic conversion chart for taking your minutes/mile target goals and determining the bpm (beats per minute) of the songs you need to select.

12:00 minutes/mile = 05.00 mph = 130 bpm

11:30 minutes/mile = 05.22 mph = 135 bpm

11:00 minutes/mile = 05.45 mph = 140 bpm

10:30 minutes/mile = 05.71 mph = 145 bpm

10:00 minutes/mile = 06.00 mph = 150 bpm

09:30 minutes/mile = 06.32 mph = 155 bpm

09:00 minutes/mile = 06.67 mph = 160 bpm

08:30 minutes/mile = 07.06 mph = 165 bpm

08:00 minutes/mile = 07.50 mph = 170 bpm

07:30 minutes/mile = 08.00 mph = 175 bpm

07:00 minutes/mile = 08.57 mph = 180 bpm

06:30 minutes/mile = 09.23 mph = 185 bpm

06:00 minutes/mile = 10.00 mph = 190 bpm

05:30 minutes/mile = 10.91 mph = 195 bpm

05:00 minutes/mile = 12.00 mph = 200 bpm

All that is left is going through your playlist and picking your favorite songs and you are done!  If you need some help picking out songs in your target bpm ranges, have no fear!  I have you covered!  Check out the list of running songs on my blog, katieRUNSthis.  There are over 475 songs there (with at least 10 new songs added each week) and all are organized by bpm and then alphabetically.

So, there you go! Time to make your playlist and get outside and get running...faster, of course!

For more of my runners rambles, be sure and check out all the articles on katieRUNSthis.  Happy running!