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Lynn Johnson has the need for speed. And she's counting on her speed work to help propel her to her personal best time in her fourth running of the Boston Marathon, scheduled to take place today despite a forecast of pounding, wind-driven rain.

Speed work is essentially faster-paced runs incorporated into a routine to increase speed and distance. It can also prevent plateaus, motivate and help gauge progress.

Johnson, 33, of North Attleboro recently offered her suggestions for incorporating speed work into running routines when she spoke to about 25 women at the Attleboro Arts Museum. The clinic was sponsored by the Wampanoag Bettys, a local female runners group.

Johnson, whose maiden name is Liberatore, was a stand-out runner on the North Attleboro High School track team and competed in the 5K and 10K at Holy Cross. She graduated from Boston University with a master's degree in physical therapy and is now a physical therapist and orthopedic specialist with the Southeastern Medical Center in Plainville, as well as a marathon runner.

In addition to running with the Greater Boston Track Club, she joins the Bettys on Sundays and is a familiar presence on the roads of North Attleboro, where she has been training more intensely for what will be her 11th marathon today. Adds variety

Johnson subscribes to the running formulas and terminology of Jack Daniels, a two-time Olympian who is now a professor and coach at the State University of New York.

Building miles can get boring, she said, and going at the same pace can leave runners feeling stagnant. Speed work adds variety, and people can gradually add it to their routine with results coming six months down the road, she said. But there are a few steps to take before starting.

First, Johnson said, is to establish a base.

A runner must be able to submit their body to low-stress running, which she describes as "a conversational run," one where you can carry on a conversation without being winded. That could take six to 24 weeks, but don't rush it. Adding speed work too quickly could result in an injury, while gradually introducing it will builds the body's resistance to injury, she said.

Runners also need to have a routine before they add anything to their program. That's because if too many things are added all at once, the routine may go by the wayside.

Once those steps are taken, runners can start adding one or more types of speed work. The five Johnson touched on included striders, Fartlek running, tempo runs, threshold intervals or repetition running. Here is her rundown on each:

Striders

These are basically 80 to 100 yards of brisk running incorporated to a weekly run.

"The first couple of steps are a gradual run, then pick up for three or four steps. It's like three or four steps at your top speed," she said, adding that you should keep striders short and preferably on a level surface. "It's a good introduction to running faster," Johnson said. "You're teaching your muscles and body to go faster."

She said the striders can be put anywhere in the running routine. Johnson does hers at the end of her normal run, typically three times a week. "It's a safe way to incorporate a couple of days a week and then eventually add a speed day a week," she said.

Fartlek runs

These are non-structured speed sessions incorporated into routines using landmarks, like telephone poles, or timed segments. "They're set at your own pace, so you can change your pace," Johnson said.

"Pick up one telephone pole length, then recover as long as you want" by running at a regular pace, she said. Johnson recommended a 10-minute warm-up run and a 10-minute cool-off run at the end. Don't start off a routine with Fartlek.

"Basically, your body learns to push out of the comfort zone," she said. "If you truly want to get faster, it's a nice way to get out of the comfort zone."

Sure, it may prompt some looks from passing motorists, she said. "But they don't need to know."

Tempo runs

These are among what Johnson calls the "heavier stuff" in speed work. "It's comfortably hard," she said.

Typically used for distance running training, tempo runs entail steady, prolonged running at a "lactate-threshold pace," which refers to a runner's ability to tolerate a constant level of lactic acid in the muscles without hampering performance.

It's working close to a person's maximum oxygen consumption without suffering from high accumulations of lactic acid in the blood. It helps to train a runner's body to clear lactic acid from muscles at a quicker rate. "It's challenging cardio-vascular-wise so that you can't continue at the same pace," Johnson said.

Tempo runs are equivalent to a pace that would be run in a 50- to 60-minute race where a runner's heart rate maximum would be at 88 to 92 percent. Johnson recommended at least 10 minutes of "easy" running, then a tempo run, followed by a 10- to 15-minute cool-down run. Runner should try this out on a track first because it's difficult to do on roads where there are hills that could lead to injury, Johnson said. This method of speed-building can also be done on a treadmill because incline and speed can be controlled.

Threshold intervals

Here, runners still go at a lactate threshold pace, but break it into segments, like four- or five-minute intervals. They can then build to 10- and 20-minute segments.

"The biggest thing is that the recovery is shorter," said Johnson.

She said beginners should perhaps add just one of these measures every other week while running their regular program; then build to once every week, say with tempo runs, and perhaps add intervals.

Repetition running

This is equal in intensity to a race pace or harder, something for more advanced runners. Recovery is longer, Johnson said, but "the idea is you're completely fresh" to do yet another one after. It's estimated that repetition running should constitute about 5 percent of a runner's weekly mileage. "You don't want to finish a tempo run feeling like you're spent. You might be tired, but if asked to do one more, you could to it," she said.

When adding speedwork, "make sure it's individual to you," Johnson emphasized. She said much information is available on the Internet or in books, but runners need to tailor it to their needs and abilities.

Runners should also determine their goal, including desired distances and times, before venturing into speed work. "Is it 5K, or do you want to get faster at 10K, half marathon or marathon? Or do you want a 6-mile run a little faster?"

She also suggests that along with speedwork, runners incorporate strength training in their routines, working with medicine balls or weights in doing core exercises. And do single leg exercises, especially since at any particular time while running, there's full stress on either one leg or the other. She demonstrated a single leg squat as an example; balancing on one leg while tapping the ground once as the other leg is stretched toward the back and side.

Johnson told the group of women runners that while she's been running half her life, she is still figuring out what works best for her.

She typically runs about 60 miles a week; with marathon training, that's bumped up to 75-80 miles. She's broken the three-hour mark on the Boston Marathon, and she'll be eying the 2:50s today.

SUSAN LaHOUD can be reached at 508-236-0398 or at slahoud@thesunchronicle.com.