Are you running but not seeing improvement? Have you lost your running mojo? Do you keep getting injured? Or do you just want to get more out of your running? In this post I'll explain a very simple way to help any of you who answered "yes" to any of those questions.

I qualified as a UK Athletics running coach a little over 3 years ago and as well as helping a weekly group of runners love running I also work with individual athletes who want to beat their personal best times.

Getting some advice from Team GB legend and coach, Martin Yelling - I'm in the orange shirt

The first thing I do when I sit down with an runner I haven't worked with before is to understand what running they have been doing. Almost every one indicates they either run all their runs at the same pace or they "just go for a run".

If that keeps you happy and motivated and injury free then that's absolutely fine. It is not the best way to train if you want to run further or faster than you have ever done before. The simplest way to help your body adapt is to stimulate it in different ways. You can do this without adding extra runs, or extra miles, or by training harder: train smarter by mixing it up and run with purpose!

Every run should have a purpose

To run further and faster you need to train your body. Just going for a run will only get you so far. You need to consider training (among other things):

• your aerobic system for endurance and base fitness
• your running muscles to be stronger
• your body to run at race pace

Don't leave the house without knowing what that session is focussing on and make sure you adjust your session accordingly.

As a start, I suggest my runners consider 3 different types of run each week:

Long Slow Run

Most programmes have the LSR or some equivalent and most runners don't run them slow enough. You need to run at a pace that is slow enough to allow you to talk without pausing for breath. This will feel uncomfortably slow to begin with. If it doesn't then you're probably not running slow enough!

Running at this easy effort keeps your heart rate low and allows your body to:

• use fat rather than carbs - especially important if you're aiming to run a half or full marathon
• promote growth of blood vessels - more blood means oxygen, which muscles need to use the fuel
• not become too fatigued - running slower reduces some of the pressure you put on your body when you train faster

So slow down, relax and let your mind wander.

Race Pace Practice

If you have a goal time for a particular race you can work out your target pace by dividing the time by the distance. The most effective way to achieve your best time at a distance is to run the race at an even pace or, ideally with a negative split: running the second half of the race quicker than the first.

Running negative splits effectively is hard so let's focus on running an even pace.

If you want to run that pace you need to know what it feels like. Race Pace Practice runs give you an opportunity to run at that pace to see how it feels and to learn the rhythm you'll need in the race.

Start over short distances and build up to around half race distance. You don't need to practice for much longer than half race distance otherwise you'll put too much fatigue into your body and increase your risk of injury. Your all round training will have you ready to run the whole thing at your target pace.

Efforts, Intervals, Hills

These sessions will take you right outside your comfort zone and push you harder than race pace but over much shorter distances.

The aim of these sessions is to run harder and faster to help improve your strength and "form" - your biomechanical movement whilst running.

These sessions don't have to be a formal track session. I don't have access to a track where I live so find flat, level pavements to run instead. You can use all sorts of things to structure your session:

• lampposts or other street furniture to begin and end efforts
• use Strava to find shorter segments that you can run repeats of
• many running watches have built in "interval" sessions
• most local running clubs will organise an efforts session on a weekly basis

These sessions put a bigger strain on your body so make sure you warm up more than you would normally do to help prevent injury.

In summary: Mix it up with purpose!

So if you want an easy way to give your running a boost stop running the same routes at the same pace and start mixing it up and select a purpose for each run.

Fitting in cross training - other exercise that isn't running, like swimming or cycling - is also great as it trains your body in a different way and with less impact too.

If you have any questions about the terminology I've used or for more details of types of session please comment below and I'll do my best to explain more.

Happy Running!

For more from me check out my blog at http://runningdanw.wordpress.com or find me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/running_dan_w