In the novel writing world, SPRINTING is writing as fast as you can in a set amount of time to see how many words you can write.
Usually, you are sprinting with another writer. It's a contest, but not really. When we sprint, we always congratulate the other person on their accomplishments. I first learned about sprinting through NaNoWriMo, but I found a group on Facebook that I joined, which I prefer over Twitter.
Now, of course, you COULD write utter nonsense.
However, if you think about or brainstorm what you want to write ahead of time, sprinting can be the best way to allow your brain to just take off running with that topic. You'd be surprised what your brain will come up with in such a short amount of time.
Last Saturday, in 1 1/2 hours or 3 sprints, I wrote 1800 words. If I did this every day, I would write about 10 books a year!
That's a bit unrealistic, considering I don't write every day.
However, if you sprinted once a week for 1 1/2 hours and averaged 1800 words each time, you'd write a novel a year. That's not bad for an hour and a half of writing every week!