Some direction on running would be appreciated ...

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christina2012
christina2012 Posts: 8
in Fitness and Exercise
I have completed C25K ... I can run 30 minutes straight - but based on the speed I am going - no way is that 5k. I have been running on a treadmill - going 4m/h I know thats not super fast - but for where I am physically right now I'm pretty proud of that - my question is do I focus on endurance right now - how long I can go at my current speed, or do I start focusing on speed, start working on increasig my speed until I can do 5k in 30 min?

Thanks all!
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Replies

  • vvendy_darling
    vvendy_darling Posts: 75
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    North/Northwest
  • _Josee_
    _Josee_ Posts: 625 Member
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    I don't believe you need to focus on speed until you have a stronger running base. I'm talking over 30miles a week.

    At this point, what will help you gain speed is more miles on your legs. If you are running 30 min 3x times a week, you can add one day. Then you can add 5 minutes to one of those runs. Then 5 minutes to another.

    The key is to go slooooooooow when adding weekly mileage. The general rule is around 10%. You WILL gain speed that way. Trust the process!

    Good luck :)
  • runnergrlfl
    runnergrlfl Posts: 82 Member
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    If you build up your endurance, the speed will naturally follow. If your goal is to complete a 5k, then work on completing it, in whatever amount of time it takes to complete it. The more times you complete the 5k, the better you will become at it, and the faster you will be at reaching the end.
  • k8w811
    k8w811 Posts: 14
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    I've found that doing some strength training has really improved my speed and endurance. I do strength/circuits on tues/thurs run on mon/weds/Sat then yoga on Sundays. Some days that I run I go for a mile amount, then other days I do intervals and that's a good time to work on speed. Just keep pushing yourself, and find some fast paced motivational music!
  • tiggerdug
    tiggerdug Posts: 67 Member
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    do you do interval training? That can help with speed? And yoga too to stretch and tone muscles, just keep going and it will fall into place.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    head West young man.
  • Leah_Alexis
    Leah_Alexis Posts: 139 Member
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    Just work on your endurance. The speed will follow.
  • christina2012
    christina2012 Posts: 8
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    Thanks all!

    I do do a bit of strength training - can definitly up that, as well I do go to yoga once week, still trying to find a good balance between everything haha

    Thanks again, I will just keep truckin' along do what I am doing and slowly adding length :)
  • Saltfae
    Saltfae Posts: 82 Member
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    North/Northwest

    dont you dare involve kim and kanye's spawn
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
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    I have nothing to add that has not been said but I did want to say great job so far! The hardest part is over :)
  • CompressedCarbon
    CompressedCarbon Posts: 353 Member
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    I started walking faster (the speed at which I run is what I call "sloth speed") in December. I started being able to run for a *solid* four minutes. At sloth speed. But every other day I ran. And tried to add one minute every other run or so. I'm now at 44 minutes and 3.3 miles. My plan is to continue going this way til I can hit five miles of uninterrupted running.

    At that point, I'll consider moving from sloth speed to turtle speed. But until then, I just want to convince my legs that there is nothing wrong with moving.

    Good luck. And just keep with it.
  • leefox79
    leefox79 Posts: 19 Member
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    At this point just keep on running. That's the best thing of being a running newbie, just by running on a regular basis you will increase your speed without even trying to. If your already strength training as well, even better. Keep up the great work!
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    Get the distance under your belt, then the speed will come later. Once you've done a couple of full 5K runs, get some shorter, faster sessions in during the week (e.g. after a warm-up, run faster than your normal speed for 1 minute, then jog/fast walk to recover and repeat) and your longer runs will automatically get faster,.
  • barefootbridgey
    barefootbridgey Posts: 81 Member
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    I'm an "Intermediate" runner, probably. I can run a half marathon, but i'm not fast. If I run by myself, a comfortable pace is about an 11 minute mile. If I run with people, I'm in the 10 1/2 minute mile range...and one time I ran a 5k with 9:27 miles.

    Point of that is...you're probably CAPABLE of running an awful lot faster than you think. I'm convinced that running is almost a 50/50 thing. 50% physical ability, 50% mind game. If I were you....I;d go with what everybody else here says about not worrying about speed. If you're a brand new runner, there's probably not much reason that you NEED to be faster. Just find a pace where you're comfortable and you can ENJOY the run rather than go through it kicking and screaming. Once you nail that pace, sign up for a race. If you've alread run a race, try a longer one...you'll be surprised how much faster you run! Anyway, find your sweet spot and (unless you are specifically training for somethign where speed is important) and enjoy it. you'll be running faster before you know it!
  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
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    head West young man.

    This.

    Also, I have found that as I add more miles to my runs, my short runs keep getting faster. When I started training for my half marathon, I was booking it at a 12 min mile. Now that my long runs are getting longer, I can book out a single mile in about 10 min. I can't maintain that pace much past a mile, but I am getting faster.
  • belgerian
    belgerian Posts: 1,059 Member
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    I focus on endurance once I get to a point where I can Run 60 minutes continous at a certain speed X I start varying the speed to a set speed Y run for X minutes scale back to speed X run for X minutes the bump up to Speed Y and repeat. (HIT) if you will for 60 minutes then once I get my self where I can sustain that speed start over with a new speed. If you focus on endurance the speed will come on its own. To a certain point This is much easier to do on a treadmill I enjoy running outside but I also do treadmill for this purpose. Outside its very hard for me to push myself easier to push a button and keep up.
  • BigSnicka
    BigSnicka Posts: 151 Member
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    First of all, great job on completing the C25K.

    Since you obviously enjoy running, you probably should just start the program over from day 1 at a higher speed. If you ended at 4 mph, start over at 5 mph or even 6 mph. It will gradually get you used to running at a faster pace and just like 4 mph sucked in the beginning and got easier, the same will happen at the higher speeds.
  • timboom1
    timboom1 Posts: 762 Member
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    I don't believe you need to focus on speed until you have a stronger running base. I'm talking over 30miles a week.

    At this point, what will help you gain speed is more miles on your legs. If you are running 30 min 3x times a week, you can add one day. Then you can add 5 minutes to one of those runs. Then 5 minutes to another.

    The key is to go slooooooooow when adding weekly mileage. The general rule is around 10%. You WILL gain speed that way. Trust the process!

    Good luck :)

    For where you are this is it. Run slow, run more. Increase time and distance slowly. Run so it feels easy, speed will just happen. Mix it up a bit as well. Whatever run you add 5 minutes to, keep increasing that one and make it your LSD (Long Slow Distance) run. As you progress, vary run times and speeds from easy to just a little bit hard, but always so you can keep going and are not out of breath.

    The more miles you put on, with adequate recovery, you are basically improving your bodies ability to 1) withstand the repetitive stress running puts on joints, tendons and muscled and 2) improves the ability of your heart to deliver more blood to your muscles...which has the oxygen they need to perform at a higher level for longer times.

    Strength training, intervals etc...have speed benefits, but only within the limits of your current state of the above items. Mostly in terms of improved lactic threshold. That said, I am not discounting other benefits from these, they are just not a replacement for running easy and running more.
  • KeithAngilly
    KeithAngilly Posts: 575 Member
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    I've found that doing some strength training has really improved my speed and endurance. I do strength/circuits on tues/thurs run on mon/weds/Sat then yoga on Sundays. Some days that I run I go for a mile amount, then other days I do intervals and that's a good time to work on speed. Just keep pushing yourself, and find some fast paced motivational music!

    Great advice here, at least as far as the strength training goes! Runners will always say "just run", but I am of the opinion that in the beginning, strengthening the body will go a long way toward avoiding injury. I would combine lot's of easy running with some good strength work. Check out "Brain Training for Runners" for some really good body weight exercises that help runners specifically. I see lots of "just run" runners getting hurt constantly. Adding some strength work would, imho, go long way to avoiding injury.

    Good luck!
  • lcyama
    lcyama Posts: 209 Member
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    when i did C25K (two years ago), i finished it with a ~40 minute 5K race. i signed up for another race a few months out, and kept running 25-30 minutes 3 times a week (looped the last 3 weeks of C25K.) i finished faster in my 2nd 5K, faster still in my 3rd... just keep running, and the speed will come!

    and congratulations on finishing C25K! it's such a great accomplishment! i remember two years ago i could barely run a minute without getting out of breath!

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