I love sprinting. I do more sprints than I do mileage. I make my clients do sprints at the end of their workouts and sometimes during, and just as 20-25 minute workout if they are pressed for time. As it turns out, this may allow me, and you (if you try it - just like the beet juice), to run a better 5K Turkey Trot time this Thanksgiving. If you are having difficulty improving your 5K or 10K run times, then the solution maybe as simple as this - try running less miles, and sprint more. (I'd also say hit the weight room 2 times per week also). "What!? How is that possible?" Dudes, it's simple.
The Journal of Applied Physiology published a study that tested 17 endurance runners' 3K & 10K times in response to sprint training and mileage reduction over a 6-to-9 week period. 12 of these runners were asked to reduce their weekly mileage by 25% and perform 8-to-12 30-s sprints 2-t0-3 times weekly with some additional .6 -.8 mile sprints at various intensities 1-to-2 times per week (based on their maximum heart rates). The other runners, stayed on their same endurance running routine and did not incorporate sprinting into their training program.
The sprint group ran 12 miles per week (20 miles per week vs. about 32 miles) and of the experimental protocol improved both 3K and 10K run times by a little more than 3%. For the 10K, on average, that was an improvement of about 1-minute. That's not bad. The authors' noted that 6 of the runners in the sprint group ran their best 10 K times EVER!! Some of these runners had been running 10Ks for 5 or more years. The improvements in run times were thought to have been mediated by an increase in the function of the Na+/K+ pump subunits. Meaning, this potentially reduced fatigue causing substances in the runners muscles.
This doesn't mean that you can stop doing your longer runs, it just simply means you have learn to give up a few miles, sprint a few endurance sprints, and test this training system for yourself.
More information on the Na/K Pump - http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072495855/student_view0/chapter2/animation__how_the_sodium_potassium_pump_works.html
More information on the Na/K Pump and muscle tissue - http://www.vetscite.org/issue1/reviews/everts_0800.htm#
Original Journal Article
Bangsbo J, Gunnarsson TP, Wendell J, Nybo L, Thomassen M. Reduced volume and increased training intensity elevate muscle Na+/K+ pump alpha2-subunit expression as well as short- and long-term work capacity in humans. Journal of Applied Physiology, October 1, 2009.
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