Slow Runners Unite - How to Increase Speed?!?!?!

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  • mariagabriella
    mariagabriella Posts: 267 Member
    interval training should help. (:
  • TaraMiley
    TaraMiley Posts: 11 Member
    I do my intervals as a seperate run. For example, I run 4-5 days a week, I have a short run at 5K pace, a tempo run, a long slow run for distance, and a speed workout which is my interval training. Some weeks I'll throw in a hill workout as well.
  • TaraMiley
    TaraMiley Posts: 11 Member
    For those that incorporate fartlek or intervals, is this done typically in a separate run. For example, I usually run 3 days per week with two runs at a base distance (which will increase over time as well, but much more slowly) and 1 longer run that increases weekly. Do you think I should start adding in another session for intervals? I've been running since November last year.

    Sun 06/17/12 09:13 AM

    I do my intervals as a seperate run. For example, I run 4-5 days a week, I have a short run at 5K pace, a tempo run, a long slow run for distance, and a speed workout which is my interval training. Some weeks I'll throw in a hill workout as well.
  • athensguy
    athensguy Posts: 550
    Several people on the RW forums recommend Glover's "The Competitive Runner's Handbook". I've got it and have read a little bit of it.
  • willismack2
    willismack2 Posts: 84
    I am such a penguin

    Waddle on friends.
  • willismack2
    willismack2 Posts: 84

    I wondered how many posts I would read until I read the right answer! "in order to run faster…you have to run faster." In order to cycle faster… you have to cycle faster. In order to swim faster… you get the idea.

    Running speed intervals are vital for increasing speed. But you will not increase your 5K times by running two minute intervals alone. Your running should be a mix of speed and distance. Endurance is a key to having the lung capacity to run faster. Mix longer distances at "current" pace with shorter distances at "goal" pace and intervals at "all out" pace.

    For example, if you can run 5 miles in 60:00, run that distance two or three times a week. Run 2 miles at a faster pace maybe 11:00 per mile one or two times a week, run intervals one or two times a week. Break up speed work with long runs or rest days.

    Be careful not to set your goals to high. It will take some time to get from 12 minute pace to 10 minute pace to 8 minute pace. Keep mixing in speed work in your running and you will get there.

    This!

    You need to work on a mixture of all phases of your running to get faster. Long easy runs to build endurance. Sustained medium pace runs to build stamina. And short fast intervals to build speed.
  • PrincessMissDee
    PrincessMissDee Posts: 183 Member
    This is great advice, I am the same with cycling too, would really like to race but can't seem to switch the "SPEED" button on.
  • kmel2479
    kmel2479 Posts: 102 Member
    Bump:)
  • kerry1513
    kerry1513 Posts: 38 Member
    Try doing some interval training. Example, run 2 minutes at moderate pace, then run as hard as you can for a minute, then run 2 minutes at moderate pace. Just keep repeating whatever time intervals and paces that work for you. It is one of the most effective ways of getting back in shape and increasing endurance and speed.
  • Ali_TSO
    Ali_TSO Posts: 1,172 Member
    I'm bummed. :ohwell: I walk/jog a 25 min mile. I thought "slow runners" meant that.... :cry: I'm doing a 5k in September.

    Oh well, just gotta get more lbs off so I'm able to jog more and my time will drop. :laugh: Good luck to you! :flowerforyou:



    .
  • pucenavel
    pucenavel Posts: 972 Member
    I got a sudden jump in speed after I'd been training heavily on my bike to ride at a higher cadence. Don't know for sure why, but I think it was somehow resetting my natural turnover rate. I went from 9.5min/mile to 8min/mile in a matter of about 4 months (and I only ran two days a week, less than 10 miles a week).

    At the time, I was riding at 95 cadence, I'm now riding at about 105.
  • clover5
    clover5 Posts: 1,640 Member
    Try some fartleks. That is Swedish for "speedplay." Totally unstructured changes in pace. Warm up for a mile or two, then go full blast to the stop sign, then go easy to the oak tree, then medium pace to the telephone pole.

    As far as that 10% rule, I reject it. I believe in listen to your body. The truth is you could injure yourself at mile 1 or run an extra two miles and be fine.

    I've been doing this ^^ for a few months. I didn't know it had a fancy name. But, my speed has increased from 12 mnute miles to 10.34 - official time at my last 5k. I actually enjoy a 50 yard sprint here and there, but sometimes I just increase a little. There is no rhyme or reason to when I speed up or how much, but one thing is certain, when I run on the same course, I get done faster than before.

    Basically, if you want to run faster, you have to run faster.
  • amyliz0226
    amyliz0226 Posts: 37
    bump
  • katysmelly
    katysmelly Posts: 380 Member
    Has anyone suggested intervals? I hear they're real good!

    LOL!

    I'm a new runner, too. I'm mostly working on increasing my distance. But, I've been doing a little bit of speed work. I have a phone app (Runkeeper) that lets me program a bunch of variable intervals. There's a bunch of apps for that sort of thing.
  • kylTKe
    kylTKe Posts: 146 Member
    I started to the C25k program back in April of 2011 and graduated in June of 2011. I have since then ran about six 5k's but for the life of me cannot get my time below 11'30" per mile. I am consistent at this pace and can run up the five miles at the pace but I want to get faster. I cross train on days that I do not run which include leg strengthening muscles. At this pace, I can speak comfortably with no more than a notch above normal breathing.

    I am beginning to think that I am just a lazy runner, but that cannot be it. Or is it my weight? I weight 181 pounds but I am pretty lean with the exception of my mid section.

    Any advice? Thanks in advance for your help guys.

    Some... interesting advice in this thread.

    At your level the only thing you should really focus on is adding some volume (the usual advice is not to add more than 10% per week). I suppose before I give that advice I should ask how many miles a week you run, but I'm guessing it's not more than 20. If you were somehow doing like 30-50 miles a week and still having no success that would be about as strange as the advice in this thread.

    So anyways, lets say you currently do 15 miles a week. Next week do 16.5 miles ( 15 * 110% ). The week after that do 18 (16.5 * 110% ). The week after that do 20 ( 18 * 110% ). Etc... I would suggest that once you add 10 miles a week you freeze at that mileage for a few weeks. Then when you feel comfortable with it starting adding miles again.

    You will get faster as you increase your mileage. Not overnight, but it will happen with 100% certainty. There's no secret workout to getting faster. If you thought maybe someone would come in here and suggest doing intervals or hill repeats and it would instantly make you faster, you're mistaken. That stuff is all for when you become a more advanced runner. I would say if you're not doing 30-40 miles a week (bare minimum) you have no reason to even think about that stuff.

    Good luck.
  • Leanz
    Leanz Posts: 2,025 Member
    Saving for later
  • timboom1
    timboom1 Posts: 762 Member
    You will get faster as you increase your mileage. Not overnight, but it will happen with 100% certainty. There's no secret workout to getting faster. If you thought maybe someone would come in here and suggest doing intervals or hill repeats and it would instantly make you faster, you're mistaken. That stuff is all for when you become a more advanced runner. I would say if you're not doing 30-40 miles a week (bare minimum) you have no reason to even think about that stuff.

    Good luck.

    Agree, Maybe not 30-40MPW before alot a speedwork, but significant experience at whatever level you end up (be it 20MPW or 40MPW.) My first 10K was at a 9:35 pace and I thought I was going to die at the end, my first half six months later was at an 8:50 pace and my second half another 4 months later was at an 8:37 pace. I did no intervals or hill repeats, only put on more miles. I've had a few more since then and have seen improvement, but smaller, for my next half I will be including some speedwork into training, as I feel I am finally the point where it will make a difference.

    FWIW, the fastest way to get faster, up to the point staying healthy, is to lose wieght. Although it is not written in stone, you will more or less lose 2 seconds per mile for every pound lost. Given that is probably one of the main reasons we have for running, it is a win-win in my book.
  • katysmelly
    katysmelly Posts: 380 Member
    I think, though, that doing something a bit faster may be a way of keeping it interesting. But, I suppose part of the appeal of doing something like that once a week is that you spend less time on the workout. Not everyone has the time to run 8 miles, three or four times a week, at a pace of 12:00 a mile. So, doing something "fast" one morning a week is appealing.

    I try to do a mix of things. And, if there's only time to run for 30 minutes (as there was today), then I might as well try to keep my pace up a bit. I intend to run for over an hour on Thursday, though, at an easy pace in order to build up more distance.
  • nickiw68
    nickiw68 Posts: 71
    Bump- for later
  • timboom1
    timboom1 Posts: 762 Member
    I think, though, that doing something a bit faster may be a way of keeping it interesting. But, I suppose part of the appeal of doing something like that once a week is that you spend less time on the workout. Not everyone has the time to run 8 miles, three or four times a week, at a pace of 12:00 a mile. So, doing something "fast" one morning a week is appealing.

    I try to do a mix of things. And, if there's only time to run for 30 minutes (as there was today), then I might as well try to keep my pace up a bit. I intend to run for over an hour on Thursday, though, at an easy pace in order to build up more distance.

    Variety is the spice of life, I try for short fast runs, medium easier runs and long slow runs each week. I also pick routes that sometimes have lots of hills and other times as few hills as possible. I wholeheartedly agree that running faster once or twice a week helps with running faster, and that mixing it up keeps you from getting stuck at one speed, and is just more interesting.
  • amyhoss
    amyhoss Posts: 414 Member
    I'm so slow, I've had walkers pass me. My dog is practically standing still next to me while I run. I did pass another runner once but she was probably at the end of a grueling 15 miler. I try to embrace it but wouldn't mind getting a little faster.

    lol at your poor dog. I'm scared to run with my dogs because they are too fast!!
  • melanie3103
    melanie3103 Posts: 246 Member
    bump - i am in the same boat, will come back later to hear advice xx
  • balogda1
    balogda1 Posts: 21 Member
    Check out evolution running. There are videos you can watch on you tube for free. It shaved a minute off my run times.
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
    The best way to get faster is to run more easy miles. As your body becomes more efficient, your pace will decrease automatically. Once you have a good aerobic base of a lot of slow, easy miles, you can start to add other elements to help increase your fitness. A good running program will consist of these elements:

    1. LSD (long, slow distance) run of ~ 120 minutes once a week
    2. Tempo runs ( classic Daniels tempo is 20 minutes @ threshold ) weekly to every other week
    3. Easy run of 90 minutes once a week
    4. Interval sessions (varying speed, quantity and distance based on the goal of that particular session) weekly to every other week
    5. Strides ( fast repeats of 20 to 30 seconds done at the end of an easy run. done at mile race pace or faster. quantity based on level of fitness.
    6. Fartlek runs (unstructured to "speed play" runs where you change pace and intensity for periods during a run, going to feel)
    7. Lots of easy running at conversational pace. From 75% to 95% of total mileage, depending upon what phase of training you are in.
    8. Recovery runs, done at easier than easy pace for those days after a really hard workout.
  • fitnessyeoja
    fitnessyeoja Posts: 357 Member
    bump
  • tabinmaine
    tabinmaine Posts: 965 Member
    bumping to come back to this thread !
  • tobielauren
    tobielauren Posts: 184 Member
    I am a track coach and read some of the replies...someone mentioned fartlicks...to me that is the best way of increasing speed

    If you are going to do them, it's probably best to not be on a treadmill. The easiest explanation would be to give examples of something on the track. You could walk the turns, run the straightaways (you don't need to be running in between these), it's a great way of mixing up the manotony of running in circles. You could do this for 8 laps and that is 2 miles right there! Another one could be run 200, walk 200, or any other variation. Or if you are on the roads, pick landmarks or telephone poles and sprint every other pole


    As annoying as it sounds...the best way of running faster is just that...run faster (but you don't have to go the same distance or time, you can go less and then gradually increase that)
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
    As annoying as it sounds...the best way of running faster is just that...run faster (but you don't have to go the same distance or time, you can go less and then gradually increase that)

    Completely disagree. Without the aerobic base to support that running faster, you will hit a plateau quickly and not advance beyond that plateau. There are many exercise physiologist and running coaches that will echo this.
  • tobielauren
    tobielauren Posts: 184 Member
    As annoying as it sounds...the best way of running faster is just that...run faster (but you don't have to go the same distance or time, you can go less and then gradually increase that)

    Completely disagree. Without the aerobic base to support that running faster, you will hit a plateau quickly and not advance beyond that plateau. There are many exercise physiologist and running coaches that will echo this.

    But I agree with you. Yes an aerobic base is necessary. But once you have that base, you need to run faster to get faster. It's the same thing with strength training. Once you are out of the hypertrophy phase and into strength phase, your not going to get stronger if you don't change reps/ sets and increase the weight a bit. Maybe I should have been more clear about how gradual you do need to go. But its really the same, to get faster, you need to run faster.
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
    As annoying as it sounds...the best way of running faster is just that...run faster (but you don't have to go the same distance or time, you can go less and then gradually increase that)

    Completely disagree. Without the aerobic base to support that running faster, you will hit a plateau quickly and not advance beyond that plateau. There are many exercise physiologist and running coaches that will echo this.

    But I agree with you. Yes an aerobic base is necessary. But once you have that base, you need to run faster to get faster. It's the same thing with strength training. Once you are out of the hypertrophy phase and into strength phase, your not going to get stronger if you don't change reps/ sets and increase the weight a bit. Maybe I should have been more clear about how gradual you do need to go. But its really the same, to get faster, you need to run faster.

    Okay, yes. We are on the same page. Base first, then speed. Cool.

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