It’s finally fall. It is a cloudy day today and I feel like I’ve entered into my favorite season after a rather long summer. Football is on TV and I am drinking pumpkin spice lattes.

At this time of year, I try to shake up my running to keep my body energized after coming from a hot summer where I got worn out from even trying to run short distances. Here are some workouts to try if you feel the same need.

1. Speed training on the treadmill. With the weather turning a bit sour in many parts of the country, perhaps you need to take your running indoors. Here is a FARTLEK:

5 mins: Warm up
3 mins: Tempo; 2 mins easy x 4
5 mins: Cool down

This makes a total of 30 minutes, which isn’t too long on a treadmill. You can cover a few miles if you push your body hard enough.

2. Outdoor hill training. As the leaves change, I try to find hills with lots of fallen leaves to give me something pretty to enjoy as I run. Try to find a hill that climbs approximately a mile or longer. You’ll run a mile on it and then turn around and go back down. It’s best to have a Garmin for this workout, as going up hill will slow you down, so it’s hard to gauge your speed versus distance.

5 mins: Warm up on flat ground
1 mile up hill. You can speed walk if necessary.
1 mile sprint down. Go easy if this hurts the knees.
1 mile up hill.
1 mile down.
5 mins recovery on flat ground. You can walk if you need.

You’ll hit about 4.5 miles on this workout and really shock your body. Your heart rate should rise pretty high. Don’t push going up hill too hard. Save that for the down hills.

3. Track training. Most high schools are now back in session, so they open up the tracks at night.

800 meters warm up
2 miles going faster every 400 meters.
400 meter cool down.

You’ll really need to pace yourself to be able to pick up every lap.

Happy fall training! Enjoy the shorter days before they become even shorter!