Running Help

megmendaciloqence

I've been working on my endurance, and discovered I can actually increase it easier than I originally thought I could. I want to be able to run a twelve minute mile, putting me at being able to run 10 miles a day in two hours. I would probably break this up into two hour-long times, and do this Monday thru Thursday, then rest Friday, and then only run 5 a day on Saturday and Sunday (because of my work and school schedule).

My question is, would it be better to try to go the distance and decrease time to build up endurance enough (which is harder for me time-wise because i still have to have time for classes and such) or would it be better to go for trying to increase speed enough in the time limit to build to that point? Which one might be harder to do, and therefore possibly take longer?

froeschli

First of all, how much/often/fast do you run now?
You shouldn't increase more than 10% a week, be it time, distance, or speed, to avoid injuries. then every few weeks you actually reduce by a bit to recover.
As for whether to do speed or distance - you can do both. many people will tell you that the longer they run on long runs, the more they increase their speed for short distances. You could do a slow long run, then a rest day, or a short recovery run, then intervals, then definitely a rest day, an intermediate speed/distance run. etc.
There are training plans and apps, that will coach you to your goal. just decide on what you want it to be...

ixap

My question is, would it be better to try to go the distance and decrease time to build up endurance enough (which is harder for me time-wise because i still have to have time for classes and such) or would it be better to go for trying to increase speed enough in the time limit to build to that point?

Better to increase distance. More time spent running will enhance your aerobic capacity, which will lead to greater speed.

CarsonRuns

Better to increase distance. More time spent running will enhance your aerobic capacity, which will lead to greater speed.
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Bingo! Just keep increasing distance slowly, taking a step-back week every 3rd week or so. More time on your feet will translate to faster running as you become more efficient.

megmendaciloqence

thanks everyone i don't run much, but i've been working on the elliptical to increase my endurance and make my lungs stronger (which is working very well considering i can keep out of the heat too) and i've also had a drop in my heart rate too from being a healthier person than i used to be. i think what i'm going to do is go the time i want to have even if i have to walk some of it and keep track of how much time spent running and try to increase it until i can run the whole hour, then work on increasing speed/distance in my time limit.

avir8

Try progressive run-- these are runs in which you start of at a certain pace, then every couple of meters increase little by little until you hit your desired pace. Here's a starting point on what it's about:
http://www.runningplanet.com/training/basic-progressive-running-workouts.html

postrockandcats

Try "Couch to 2K;" it's a great program and even has a followup for training for 10k!