Sad with my pace
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samonmission
Posts: 62 Member
Hi Friends,
I am sorry if this post sounds whining to many of you .. really I am whining to myself...
Long story short, I started running/walking (from being couch potato) in July 2013. I have been training with a group since then every Sunday morning. All along I have been trying to improve my pace but I am still at the same place. I started with 15min/mile pace and today I am still at 14:30 min / mile pace.
I finished 2 half marathons so far . First one was really hard / hilly route so I don't feel sad for finishing in 3hr 30min but the second one was very easy and I put myself a goal of finishing before 3 hrs .But it took me 3hrs 12min to finish and I didn't achieve my goal. All the others from my training group,even generally slower people, finished before me.. I feel so sad about that and can't get over that feeling. I am trying to convince myself that finishing is important not the pace but its not working I am still feeling so very sad and angry with myself too..
Just wanted to share my feelings ~ I am just too sad about my pace... and I feel like I am never ever going to go below 14 min/ mile pace
- Sam
I am sorry if this post sounds whining to many of you .. really I am whining to myself...
Long story short, I started running/walking (from being couch potato) in July 2013. I have been training with a group since then every Sunday morning. All along I have been trying to improve my pace but I am still at the same place. I started with 15min/mile pace and today I am still at 14:30 min / mile pace.
I finished 2 half marathons so far . First one was really hard / hilly route so I don't feel sad for finishing in 3hr 30min but the second one was very easy and I put myself a goal of finishing before 3 hrs .But it took me 3hrs 12min to finish and I didn't achieve my goal. All the others from my training group,even generally slower people, finished before me.. I feel so sad about that and can't get over that feeling. I am trying to convince myself that finishing is important not the pace but its not working I am still feeling so very sad and angry with myself too..
Just wanted to share my feelings ~ I am just too sad about my pace... and I feel like I am never ever going to go below 14 min/ mile pace
- Sam
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Replies
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That has to be incredibly frustrating and demotivating. What have you tried to improve your pace? Do you do intervals during your runs? If so, how long are your intervals, and what speeds?0
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I feel your pain, it took me over a year to break my pace plateau. I would strongly recommend short speed work outs during the week. Do this on a treadmill at first. Warm up for 5 minutes at a comfortable pace. Then set it to a challenging speed for you, perhaps a 10 minute mile. Run for 30 seconds then jump on to the sides. Rest for 30 seconds, then jump back on. Repeat that for 20 minutes and it will GREATLY improve your endurance.0
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That has to be incredibly frustrating and demotivating. What have you tried to improve your pace? Do you do intervals during your runs? If so, how long are your intervals, and what speeds?
Yes I tried Intervals.. I started with 1 min run / 1 min walk intervals. Then increased to 2min run / 1 min walk. I am doing these outdoors most of the time so speed may be around 4.2 mi/hr (According to MapMyRun)0 -
How many miles are you running a week? What does your schedule look like? And are you doing run/walk intervals for all of your runs?0
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What is your current weekly training schedule like?
I would suggest cutting back the long mileage runs- you already clearly have a great base of endurance. What I would suggest is using a program like B210k (Bridge to 10k) and use the interval guidelines as speedwork intervals (rather than walk/run).** Don't go ALL out on the fast intervals, just a little bit faster than your current pace.I think going through that will really help you improve your pace.
One more thing to try is to add one day a week of sprints- flat and/or hills- it would be a short workout mileage wise, but the point is to get your legs moving at a fast pace regularly- to train the movement pattern. 5 minute warm up, sprint, recover, sprint recover for ~10 mins, 5 minute cool down.
**ETA: I just saw that you're doing walk/run intervals. I was assuming you were running the whole time. If this is the case for all of your current runs, it might be worthwhile to go back to C25K and go through that program with the end goal be to run 5k straight though, then do B210k0 -
Thanks for your support ! I generally workout outdoors mainly because I found treadmill very boring. Only on the days when its worst weather I go indoors. I'll try your suggestion when I go indoors next time. In fact. I did this today morning for 30 min (Run:0.3miles at 5mph Walk 0.15 miles 3.5mph) With 3 min warm up and 2 min cool down. I did 2.10 mi in 30 min. Which is same 15min/mile pace..I feel your pain, it took me over a year to break my pace plateau. I would strongly recommend short speed work outs during the week. Do this on a treadmill at first. Warm up for 5 minutes at a comfortable pace. Then set it to a challenging speed for you, perhaps a 10 minute mile. Run for 30 seconds then jump on to the sides. Rest for 30 seconds, then jump back on. Repeat that for 20 minutes and it will GREATLY improve your endurance.0 -
What is your current weekly training schedule like?
I would suggest cutting back the long mileage runs- you already clearly have a great base of endurance. What I would suggest is using a program like B210k (Bridge to 10k) and use the interval guidelines as speedwork intervals (rather than walk/run).** Don't go ALL out on the fast intervals, just a little bit faster than your current pace.I think going through that will really help you improve your pace.
One more thing to try is to add one day a week of sprints- flat and/or hills- it would be a short workout mileage wise, but the point is to get your legs moving at a fast pace regularly- to train the movement pattern. 5 minute warm up, sprint, recover, sprint recover for ~10 mins, 5 minute cool down.
**ETA: I just saw that you're doing walk/run intervals. I was assuming you were running the whole time. If this is the case for all of your current runs, it might be worthwhile to go back to C25K and go through that program with the end goal be to run 5k straight though, then do B210k
Thank you ! I did C25K once but fall right back to walking when I stopped it . I was also thinking of starting with C25K again and go to B210K
My workout schedule is 30 min (1 day elliptical ,1 day run on Tue & Thu ) and long runs (> 5miles ) on Sunday. Sometimes I do strength training on one of my weekday training.0 -
Sorry to hear this is upsetting you so much...try and look at the positives, you've completed TWO half marathons, that's two more than me and most of the world!
Your health must be improving and I bet you look alot better too.
Don't be so harsh on yourself, keep trying to improve your speed by all means, but don't beat yourself up about it.:flowerforyou:0 -
Based on your follow up comments, I would also suggest c25k until you're running the whole 30min. Then a bridge to 10k (or other plan to increase time. Pace increases naturally with more miles run. So I'd work towards running continually, then see where your pace lands.0
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Based on your follow up comments, I would also suggest c25k until you're running the whole 30min. Then a bridge to 10k (or other plan to increase time. Pace increases naturally with more miles run. So I'd work towards running continually, then see where your pace lands.
Thanks I am planning to start C25K from Sunday. This time I'll start from week 4 (3 min jog & 1.5 min walk)0 -
Not disagreeing with the other commenters re: sprint intervals - in fact, making 1 day a week "Sprint Day" is a GREAT idea.
Slightly different option for what that might look like - took my mile pace from ~10:30 to 7:02:
--warm up 1-1.5 miles really easy jog
--sprint the distance of 1 or 2 phone poles/light posts. Really put your all into it. Jog sloooowly or walk back to your starting point (go as slow as you need to!). When you get there, sprint again. Do 3-6 of these (only the sprint part counts)
--cool down .5-1 mile - whatever feels good to you
It *is* a really short workout, and feels counterintuitive. Who's gonna run that pace in a half-marathon? Or even a 5K, realistically. But it does wonders for your pace on "regular" runs.
There are lots of ways to incorporate a sprint workout into what you're doing. Experiment, and good luck!0 -
Thank you ! I did C25K once but fall right back to walking when I stopped it . I was also thinking of starting with C25K again and go to B210K
My workout schedule is 30 min (1 day elliptical ,1 day run on Tue & Thu ) and long runs (> 5miles ) on Sunday. Sometimes I do strength training on one of my weekday training.
How much of your long run is actually spent running vs walking? Your return to C25K indicates that you have a distance base but it is primarily walking. Build the run base and the times start coming down.0 -
How much of your long run is actually spent running vs walking? Your return to C25K indicates that you have a distance base but it is primarily walking. Build the run base and the times start coming down.
I do Run / Walk for up to 8-9 miles but then I just can't run .. I get so exhausted and start walking for rest of the 5-6 miles ( I ran max 14 miles at once so far) So when I am doing Run/Walk I could maintain speed up to 13.45 min/mile but then after that it just goes on toss and my overall pace turns out to be worse.. what do you mean by build the Run Base? How do I do that?0 -
Not disagreeing with the other commenters re: sprint intervals - in fact, making 1 day a week "Sprint Day" is a GREAT idea.
Slightly different option for what that might look like - took my mile pace from ~10:30 to 7:02:
--warm up 1-1.5 miles really easy jog
--sprint the distance of 1 or 2 phone poles/light posts. Really put your all into it. Jog sloooowly or walk back to your starting point (go as slow as you need to!). When you get there, sprint again. Do 3-6 of these (only the sprint part counts)
--cool down .5-1 mile - whatever feels good to you
It *is* a really short workout, and feels counterintuitive. Who's gonna run that pace in a half-marathon? Or even a 5K, realistically. But it does wonders for your pace on "regular" runs.
There are lots of ways to incorporate a sprint workout into what you're doing. Experiment, and good luck!
Thank you for your encouraging post !0 -
How much of your long run is actually spent running vs walking? Your return to C25K indicates that you have a distance base but it is primarily walking. Build the run base and the times start coming down.
I do Run / Walk for up to 8-9 miles but then I just can't run .. I get so exhausted and start walking for rest of the 5-6 miles ( I ran max 14 miles at once so far) So when I am doing Run/Walk I could maintain speed up to 13.45 min/mile but then after that it just goes on toss and my overall pace turns out to be worse.. what do you mean by build the Run Base? How do I do that?
Work on running more and more of the distance. Simply working to improve the distance you can run without walking will improve your pace. If you walk half of a five mile run/walk ... strive to run three quarters of it ... then all of it. That takes time but will improve your overall pace. Also, check your walking pace. Are you at a brisk walk or barely meandering along. Running the majority of the distance and briskly walking rest will help your pace.0 -
How much of your long run is actually spent running vs walking? Your return to C25K indicates that you have a distance base but it is primarily walking. Build the run base and the times start coming down.
I do Run / Walk for up to 8-9 miles but then I just can't run .. I get so exhausted and start walking for rest of the 5-6 miles ( I ran max 14 miles at once so far) So when I am doing Run/Walk I could maintain speed up to 13.45 min/mile but then after that it just goes on toss and my overall pace turns out to be worse.. what do you mean by build the Run Base? How do I do that?
Work on running more and more of the distance. Simply working to improve the distance you can run without walking will improve your pace. If you walk half of a five mile run/walk ... strive to run three quarters of it ... then all of it. That takes time but will improve your overall pace. Also, check your walking pace. Are you at a brisk walk or barely meandering along. Running the majority of the distance and briskly walking rest will help your pace.
Thank you ! appreciate yours and other so well advises here0 -
I saw a similar post earlier today so I guess I'll throw my two cents in. I'm not a marathon runner, nor a running coach nor a fitness professional, so this is strictly my opinion. First read what you wrote:.....I finished 2 half marathons so far . First one was really hard / hilly route so I don't feel sad for finishing in 3hr 30min but the second one was very easy and I put myself a goal of finishing before 3 hrs .But it took me 3hrs 12min to finish and I didn't achieve my goal.....
You finished two half marathons! That is an accomplishment! You missed your goal, so what? Something to work on. I'm a fairly slow runner and I have never participated in a half marathon, so you're an inspiration in my book. I used to get caught up in maintaining or achieving a certain pace but when it all comes down to it, if you finished you achieved much more than all those people sitting on their a$$es.
I'll echo the speed work. You can find speed work and tempo run workouts on the internet. But if you want to spend $3.99, download the Active 5k to 10K app. It's got a good workout and some are down right brutal. Another thing I like to do is just run a mile on "off" days. Meaning, I run three days a week that are structured. I have a particular training plan for each day. On days I don't, then I run whatever I feel. It's never more than a couple of miles but it's another day of running.
During the holidays I was doing the Holiday Streak where you ran at least a mile every day between Thanksgiving and New Years. If I was feeling it, I'd run that mile as fast as I could, just to see if I could bring my pace up. Try that. Try the telephone workout that an earlier poster presented. But most of all, don't let it get you down. Everyone gets so wrapped up in numbers and unless you plan on making the elite division of the Boston Marathon, I'm proud of you for just finishing!0 -
Ok look, if you're still doing a run/walk thing, you have no real clue what your "pace" is, because you simply aren't running the entire distance in one shot. You are averaging out moderate effort and low effort and getting annoyed. And your halves sound like you made progress from the first to the second, and you are feeling let down over an arbitrary goal? Give yourself a bit more credit, k?
Running more slow easy miles is how you increase your pace. Gradually add a bit to each of your runs throughout the week until you build up a decent base. Be consistent. Don't listen to the speedwork advice if you are still doing the run/walk thing. You're asking for trouble.
Run slow, run easy. Tomorrow, do the same thing. Be consistent, and don't expect immediate results.0 -
Not disagreeing with the other commenters re: sprint intervals - in fact, making 1 day a week "Sprint Day" is a GREAT idea.
Slightly different option for what that might look like - took my mile pace from ~10:30 to 7:02:
--warm up 1-1.5 miles really easy jog
--sprint the distance of 1 or 2 phone poles/light posts. Really put your all into it. Jog sloooowly or walk back to your starting point (go as slow as you need to!). When you get there, sprint again. Do 3-6 of these (only the sprint part counts)
--cool down .5-1 mile - whatever feels good to you
It *is* a really short workout, and feels counterintuitive. Who's gonna run that pace in a half-marathon? Or even a 5K, realistically. But it does wonders for your pace on "regular" runs.
There are lots of ways to incorporate a sprint workout into what you're doing. Experiment, and good luck!
What good is a sprint with little aerobic base? Please explain to me.0 -
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