Improving running speed
I have recently have gotten into running and really enjoy it. I started about 2 months ago and I have a 5k planned for Sunday which I anticipate finishing in 32 minutes. Currently, my "long" runs are 4 miles once a week, and my regular runs are 2.5-3 miles. I run about 4-5 times a week, and have just started cross training with swimming.
I would love to get faster. My ultimate goal would be to finish a 5k in 20 minutes, but I would be ecstatic with anything less than 30 in the short term. I also plan to work up to 6 miles by the end of August and eventually a half marathon.
My question is: when did you start seeing real improvements in your speed? My progress has really plateaued the last two weeks, which I know is likely because I have finally established my "base". I don't expect to keep getting a lot faster every week but I just want a realistic goal to shoot for by September.
UPDATE: Finished in 31:10s. WOW! Personal best. Hopefully for my next one I can do 30 minutes flat
HIIT, HIIT, HIIT
After one or two sessions I felt a big difference. The results are slower to come now, however, so I'm currently doing them while on a slight incline.
run more, increase your runs slowly by 10% each week.
Do intervals, fartlicks, ladder sets, thresholds. Mix up the distance/time. do a warmup/cooldown run. Never stretch before you run (this actually makes your muscles weaker which in turn makes your runs not as good). Do sprinting drills, dynamic stretching and longer stretching post run.
Check out local running clubs/stores and see if they have special guests that come in and talk about running form, training, preventing injuries, nutrition, ect. Also check to see if they have any organized training runs coming up so you can meet with other runners of all levels.
Also please lift, I know runners who dont lift and they have bad form and run like crap and complain about it and I tell them to lift and they dont because they think that they will build extra muscle = weight = slowing down. This has been proven false especially if you've ever experienced college level running, the slightly chubbier or has more-meat-on-her-bones girl always wins, the anorexic looking one wins and burns out.
The summer is not the time when you see the improvement in pace. That comes when the weather cools. Right now, where I run, it is HOT! Heat impacts your pace because your body will divert energy to cool itself. That body function is behind breathing and the heart ... but ahead of propulsion. In other words, even with the same effort on your part ... the more of your available energy that the body uses to cool itself the less available energy you have to run faster.
I ran 6 miles this morning. I sweated out 7.3 lbs which is 19 oz per mile. All of that energy my body was using to cool was energy I couldn't use to run faster.
Train in the heat ... race in the cold.
For the first couple of years I continued to increase my speed and distance capabilities at the same time, without doing any special speed work at all (that is a very common scenario). After that, I just continued to build distance capability (marathons and ultramarathons), but didn't get any faster at the mid distances like 10K. 25 years later, I started using a more scientific approach (Daniels' Running Formula), and have been improving my mid-distance speeds for about two years.
You don't have a base yet. Give it another 6 months before thinking about speedwork. Right now, focus on running 3-4x/week, 3-4 miles at a time, holding a moderate pace. Once the fall hits, your pace will climb automatically.
I'd suggest picking a race sometime next March or April and training for it.
Good luck on your race this weekend. Come back and let us know how you did.
Original Post by cpa_pfs:
The summer is not the time when you see the improvement in pace. That comes when the weather cools. Right now, where I run, it is HOT! Heat impacts your pace because your body will divert energy to cool itself. That body function is behind breathing and the heart ... but ahead of propulsion. In other words, even with the same effort on your part ... the more of your available energy that the body uses to cool itself the less available energy you have to run faster.
I ran 6 miles this morning. I sweated out 7.3 lbs which is 19 oz per mile. All of that energy my body was using to cool was energy I couldn't use to run faster.
Train in the heat ... race in the cold.
I began running in the cold back in Jan of this year. 78 degrees at 4am is nasty running weather and I've learned that I don't cross the 8-10 miles anymore. I guess I'll wait until Sept to increase my milage back to the 13 point I need to be for my half marathon in October. So looking forward to pushing my milage much higher after that (10% per week of course) between Oct and April to prepare for my first full in April.
Training in the heat definately S U C K S!
training in the heat isn't fun, but your VO2 max improve, which you will appreciate when it is fall and time to race.
Original Post by smashley23:
training in the heat isn't fun, but your VO2 max improve, which you will appreciate when it is fall and time to race.
Yep. Training in heat and altitude is harder, for sure, and your times suffer, but come fall or racing out of altitude, it's worth it. I'm in AZ and I train in the heat at least twice a week (100+ degrees) and at altitude twice a month (take a weekend up north to swim, bike, run). Right now I feel so slow but I know come fall and my first fall opening race, I will be very happy for struggling through the heat and altitude now.
I honestly didn't see speed improvements until I'd been actively running for almost a year. Then I had a good base where 7-8 miles was an easy, casual workout and I started adding in speed drill days. Slowly but surely, my times started to improve.
Original Post by cnichols2000:You don't have a base yet. Give it another 6 months before thinking about speedwork. Right now, focus on running 3-4x/week, 3-4 miles at a time, holding a moderate pace. Once the fall hits, your pace will climb automatically.
I'd suggest picking a race sometime next March or April and training for it.
Good luck on your race this weekend. Come back and let us know how you did.
I disagree. I think a little interval training at any level can be helpful, if only once every 7-10 days. A couple sessions can easily shave 10-30 secs off your mile runs without too much danger as long as you do it safely.
Original Post by nicholas_shannon:
Original Post by cnichols2000:
You don't have a base yet. Give it another 6 months before thinking about speedwork. Right now, focus on running 3-4x/week, 3-4 miles at a time, holding a moderate pace. Once the fall hits, your pace will climb automatically.
I'd suggest picking a race sometime next March or April and training for it.
Good luck on your race this weekend. Come back and let us know how you did.
I disagree. I think a little interval training at any level can be helpful, if only once every 7-10 days. A couple sessions can easily shave 10-30 secs off your mile runs without too much danger as long as you do it safely.
I agree with chris. Interval training gives better improvements after a person has built a good base. After a person has done enough to increase the vascularity of their muscles, and increased the amount of mitochondria in their cells, intervals are of great benefit.
Thank you to the original poster! I had the exact same question. Great answers!
Thank you so much for all the advice!
I thought I had built a base but I guess that was a premature assessment (kind of embarrassing really :( ). I will just focus less on speed and just building my endurance
I will let you guys know how the race went!
Original Post by science_chick: I thought I had built a base but I guess that was a premature assessment...
You can build a good cardiovascular base in a few months, but running fast requires a good musculoskeletal base. Your connective tissues need to be strengthened, your vascular system will build itself up, and that takes a significant amount of time. Speedwork is very taxing on the body, and the cumulative strain on (e.g.) ligaments doesn't recover the same way your heart and lungs do. So people who start running fast before they're physically ready get all sorts of fun stuff like shin splints, tendinitis, stress fractures, etc.
Be patient, work hard, and good things will happen. Honest.
If you're on a treadmill doing 5.5 try 30 secs at 5.8 and "rest" with 1-2 mins at your 5.5 base and repeat. It's pretty gentle but goes a long ways. And as you get better, each time you try it you can increase the numbers at your own pace.
Thinking back, however, 50 lbs ago I wasn't able to jog faster than 5.0 so if you're still in that area it might be too hard... But a 32 min 5k seems to indicate otherwise.
Original Post by nicholas_shannon:
I hate to be a stick in the mud, but I still disagree with you. Maybe our definition of "interval training" isn't the same. I'm not saying all-out sprints, but rather just mix in some periods of slightly faster pace. Just the light push breaks new ground in your body.
If you're on a treadmill doing 5.5 try 30 secs at 5.8 and "rest" with 1-2 mins at your 5.5 base and repeat. It's pretty gentle but goes a long ways. And as you get better, each time you try it you can increase the numbers at your own pace.
Thinking back, however, 50 lbs ago I wasn't able to jog faster than 5.0 so if you're still in that area it might be too hard... But a 32 min 5k seems to indicate otherwise.
I just noticed I wrote 32 minutes, I meant to write 34. I'm 5'6" and 164 lbs which makes me moderately overweight. My pace averages between 11-12 minute mile depending on how hot it is and what not. I do a little bit of fartlek every once in a while, nothing major just running to a mail box or some other land mark just a little bit faster. I haven't tried using a treadmill because I find them very boring, but I will keep what you suggested in mind.
Only moderately overweight? This should be do-able.
I like putting the incline on too... After a few days of running uphill it feels really freeing to go to the track. Probably speeds you up too.
31:10s
WOW!! I blew my goal out of the water! What they say about race day adrenaline must be true. Plus its really hilly around my neighborhood so when I run I inevitably always have to do hills and this course was as flat as can be so I was able to push harder.
:)
Original Post by science_chick:
31:10s
WOW!! I blew my goal out of the water! What they say about race day adrenaline must be true. Plus its really hilly around my neighborhood so when I run I inevitably always have to do hills and this course was as flat as can be so I was able to push harder.
:)
Great job! Maybe you'd like to tell us more, here.
