How to increase speed?

noor_v

Hi Everyone!!

I finished the C25K program couple of weeks ago... I am able to do the entire 30-mins without stopping - I vary the speed between 4.5 mph and 5 mph

I want to continue working on improving my speed. How can I do that? Should I try and run for a longer time on some days? Or just keep increasing my speed slowly?

Also, I want to run more frequently - maybe 5-6 days a week. Is this a good idea? Do I need to give myself rest days?

rduhlir

Honestly...the easiest way right now to increase your speed is going to be increasing your mileage. With beginners, the biggest speed gain you will get will be simply from time on your feet. I went from a 35 minute 5K to sub 30 in a year, and it was all from increasing mileage. I toyed with speed work...tempos, hills, intervals, etc...but did nothing serious into speed. The toying with speed work was just to get my feet wet and figure out how each was supposed to be done.

I would suggest go to the next step up...a 10k. But here is where it will get a little tricky. Many people will say just go onto the B210K app...which is fine. But my suggestion is to research a program that starts to bring one long distance run a week. I am going to suggest the Hal Higdon Novice 10k plan. It drops your distance back slightly at first...but helps you establish that important long run. Then from there you just keep going until you get to around 20-25 miles per week...which is the suggested weekly mileage one should be covering before they bring in speed work, which will take about 6-9 months to get to....giving your body plenty of time to have prepared its systems to the new activity.

Here is the link to the Hal Higdon training plan:

http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51122/10K-Novice-Training-Program

likitisplit

^this.

pbandjenny

I started couch to 5k over, but am doing "fast" running and jogging instead of jogging and walking--if that makes sense. So far so good. I'm on week 4 and where I was doing 14-15 minute miles last time around, I'm getting 12-13 minute miles this time around--that's with the slower pace intervals included. But yeah, I would also agree just more time out there helps.

MeanderingMammal

Honestly...the easiest way right now to increase your speed is going to be increasing your mileage. With beginners, the biggest speed gain you will get will be simply from time on your feet. I went from a 35 minute 5K to sub 30 in a year, and it was all from increasing mileage. I toyed with speed work...tempos, hills, intervals, etc...but did nothing serious into speed. The toying with speed work was just to get my feet wet and figure out how each was supposed to be done.

This.

work on getting your distance up to 10K as a matter of routine.

Increasing my mileage led to a reduction of about 7 minutes on my 5K time. I'm now working on my 10K time and I've knocked about 14 minutes off that,

Once you're up to consistently running the longer distances you can start to slice up your sessions with tempo and intervals to increase your speed again.

fwiw I didn't get on with the B210K programme, it was a litttle too fast for me in terms of distance increments and I ended up with some knee and ankle pain, so had to back off a bit. I probably took about 8 weeks to get form 5-10 and I've since taken about 4 months on this performance improvement plan.

likitisplit

I started couch to 5k over, but am doing "fast" running and jogging instead of jogging and walking--if that makes sense. So far so good. I'm on week 4 and where I was doing 14-15 minute miles last time around, I'm getting 12-13 minute miles this time around--that's with the slower pace intervals included. But yeah, I would also agree just more time out there helps.

I just kept running after C25k and ended up with about the same time reduction over the next couple of months. You are poised to make real gains at that point no matter what you do.

noor_v

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and advice

My goal is to run 9-10 miles/week. I think at my current speed I am probably doing around 7-8 miles/week... I have thought about training for a 10K, but I don't want to do that. Based on the comments above, I'll try and increasing my time and distance...

What about the frequency of the runs? Do I need to take a rest day every other day? How many back-to-back runs a week do you recommend?

likitisplit

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and advice :simle:

My goal is to run 9-10 miles/week. I think at my current speed I am probably doing around 7-8 miles/week... I have thought about training for a 10K, but I don't want to do that. Based on the comments above, I'll try and increasing my time and distance...

What about the frequency of the runs? Do I need to take a rest day every other day? How many back-to-back runs a week do you recommend?

If you increase time and distance, you'll be training for a 10k anyway. I run 3 days a week but need to add a fourth. I wouldn't do more than 5-6 runs a week, and would keep it in the 3-5 range until you need to add the final day. Build slowly by adding no more than 10% a week. Add days slowly and do it by spreading your existing mileage over the days and building back up (3 days of 4 miles/day -> 4 days of 3 miles/day).

MeanderingMammal

I have thought about training for a 10K, but I don't want to do that.

Not suggesting that you train for a 10K, but that it's a nice distance to train at. It's a distance that's long enough to be a challenge, but not so long that it consumes huge amounts of time or in te case of any one session really needs much specific preparation.

For me it's a nice pleasant session of just over an hour, or 55 minutes of hard work. Personally I'm a little ambivalent about racing, although I am doing a trail 10K in a couple of weeks, anticipating about 1:10 for it following a recce I did on the route a couple of weeks ago.

Working at the 10K distance has had a big effect on my 5K, a couple of weeks ago I did a 22K road cycle and then ran 5K in 28 minutes, so it's really paid dividends.

What about the frequency of the runs? Do I need to take a rest day every other day? How many back-to-back runs a week do you recommend?

I'd suggest aiming for 4 runs per week, you can fit around other training, I cycle or row a couple of times a week, and do some resistance training under sufferance. I find that pretty boring though. Four days is also a cycle that allows you to alternate running with other work, so a structured rest day.

I do five runs per week and in all honesty it's probably a bit much, there are times when sessions can be a bit of a chore and it can get difficult fitting life around that, I end up putting myself under a bit too much pressure.

noor_v

Ok... so I am going to plan for 4x per week... Tue, Thur, Sat, Sun...

Question about Mon, Wed, Fri - currently, I don't do anything on those days. Should I start some kind of exercise routine on these days???

A few months ago, a friend of mine suggested some exercises using light weights and focused on arms and abs, but I got really tired after doing them, and I wasn't able to run the next day. And so I stopped doing them and just focused on the C25K...

Should I try and do those exercises again? Hopefully I have built up some stamina since and so I should be good... but I worry that what if I get tired again and I am not able to run???