Running faster!

koaliebear195

Hi, I just ran 5km for the first time last night on the treadmill. It took me 46 minutes. I want to go faster now! Any advice? How much should I be pushing myself? Should I just keep running 5km in 46 minutes for a bit? (I wanted to throw up around 43 minutes in which isn't bad! hah)

leadslinger17

You will need some form of intervals to push your pace. You will have trouble just flat out running the entire thing faster so break it up.

You could start like this. 45 minute 5K is ballpark 15min miles. So next time try 1/2 mile warmup at 15min/mile and then alternate 1/2 miles with 14:30 min miles. When you've done that successfully a few times, try doing the whole thing at 14:30. If half mile intervals are too hard or long, break it up by smaller distances ( quarter mile faster speeds with 3/4 miles at the 15 min/mile pace) or even by time (5 minutes at slower pace, 2 at the faster). You're training your body to be used to running at a given pace, and maintaining a faster pace when tired.

ThickMcRunFast

How often do you run (how many miles, how many times a week?) For a relatively new runner, adding intervals is a recipe for injury. Chances are what you need is to slowly increase your base mileage until your musculature can handle the load of speedwork. The good news is that for a new runner, just increasing mileage will result in a pace increase.