Increasing running speed at 4'11 height

jaga13

I am 4'11, 36 years old, and about 10 lbs away from my ultimate goal weight. I never considered myself a runner (hated it!), but bought a used treadmill a couple years ago and slowly worked my way from walking, to walking/running intervals, to actually running several miles. But I'm still only running about a 11-12 minute pace (I can do a little less than 11 minutes if I really push myself for the 1st mile, but then I'm out of steam). On week days (twice a week), when I'm pressed for time, I push hard for 2 miles (varying speed a little to try to maximize my speed). On the weekend I spend an hour on the treadmill, more for endurance, and this is my slower speed (sometimes mixed with walking). I also lift weights 3 days a week and do a lot of extra walking, and yoga, just to give you a better picture.

Just wondering if anyone has a similar background (and height!) and has increased their speed? I just can't imagine ever breaking past a 10 minute pace. Is it not likely for someone my height? I guess anything is possible Would love to hear your success stories!

lporter229

Hi! I am 5 '0" and have had success increasing my speed just by running more slow miles. Your height should not be a limiting factor. I am 43 years old and am still making gains in that area. When I started running I was doing most of my runs in the 10-10:30 range. In the past year I have run PRs in the 5 mile (7:32 pace), Half marathon (7:56 pace) and marathon (8:52 pace). Just keep at it and you will get faster!

jaga13

Wow, that's amazing! Congrats! Ah, so maybe I'm just not dedicating enough time to get in the mileage/training.

cheshirecatastrophe

Yup. In the beginning, the secret to running faster is simply to run more.

MeanderingMammal

Yes, lots of long steady miles. Up until about 25 to 30 miles per week you'll make most gains from time on your feet. Specific speedwork isn't going to add much value until then.

If you're still having to take walk breaks on an hour long session, focus on removing the walk breaks, then building up to about 90 minutes.

You might find a 10K improvement plan helps.

Jambalady

I'm 4'11.5" I'm currently at about 10:15/mi for a 5 mile run. I do a combination of longer running mileage on the weekends and then 1-2 mile sprints on the treadmill during the week. It can definitely be done. you just have to run more.

btw - very impressed with iporter229's numbers! That's awesome.

scottb81

Height is not a limiting factor. Mizuki Noguchi is 4'11" and won a gold medal in for the marathon in the 2004 Olympics with a time of 2:26:20. That's a pace of 5:35 for 26 miles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizuki_Noguchi

jaga13

Very interesting comments everyone, thank you. I didn't realize that I would need to put in more time and mileage to get more speed. It may not be in the cards for me in the immediate future since I'm using up all the time I have, but when I do find more time I will definitely consider a 10K improvement plan. Thank you all.