Increasing 5k Race Pace
Ms_J1
Posts: 253 Member
Hello! I'm 45 years old and I started running about 3 or 4 months ago. Up until then, I hated running and avoided it at all costs. I never actually planned to start running. I kind of just fell into it after I started walking for exercise and then discovered that running was the fastest way to return home when I would walk too far. Within a couple of weeks, I was running more than I was walking and the rest is history.
Anyway, I'm obviously still new to running but I did manage to run my first 5k a couple of weeks ago and I think I did fairly well for a newbie (i.e., I finished the race and I didn't come in last which were my only two goals). So now I'm looking to increase my 5k race pace which is curremtly at 9:53 (6 mph) and I have some ideas that I would like some input on.
I was on the treadmill last night and decided to make up my own sprint interval workout. I'm a distance swimmer but I assume the theories on increasing speed are the same for both distance swimming and distance running. In swimming, one thing we do to help increase speed is sprint intervals. For example, we may swim a 6 x 100 in which we swim 25 fast/75 easy, 50 fast/50 easy, 75 fast/25 easy, 100 fast, 25 easy/75 fast, 50 easy/50 fast, 75 easy/25 fast. So I decided to do something similar on the treadmill - a 6 x 5 min run: 1 min at 6.5mph / 4 min at 4.5mph, 2 mins at 6.5mph / 3 min at 4.5mph, 3 mins at 6.5mph / 2 mins at 4.5mph, 4 mins at 6.5mph / 1 min at 4.5mph, 5 mins at 6.5mph, 1 min at 4.5mph / 4 mins at 6.5mph, 2 mins at 4.5mph / 3 mins at 6.5mph, 3 mins at 4.5mph / 2 mins 6.5mph, 4 mins at 4.5mph / 1 min at 6.5mph. It killed me. I found that my 4.5mph active recoveries were either not slow enough or not long enough. I didn't even make it to 5 mins at 6.5mph. Three minutes at 6.5mph was all I could do. And I know that since I can run a 5k at an average speed of 6mph, training at 6.5mph is not an unreasonably high speed for me. I just need to figure out the best way to tweak my sprint intervals so that they're doable but also beneficial in helping to increase my speed overall. Any ideas?
Also, is hill running more beneficial for increasing speed or endurance? Or both? I live in the hill country of central Texas and hills cannot be avoided (I have developed a love-hate relationship with our hills).
I would appreciate any advice. And if any of you would like a new MFP running friend, feel free to add me. I accept all runners and swimmers.
Anyway, I'm obviously still new to running but I did manage to run my first 5k a couple of weeks ago and I think I did fairly well for a newbie (i.e., I finished the race and I didn't come in last which were my only two goals). So now I'm looking to increase my 5k race pace which is curremtly at 9:53 (6 mph) and I have some ideas that I would like some input on.
I was on the treadmill last night and decided to make up my own sprint interval workout. I'm a distance swimmer but I assume the theories on increasing speed are the same for both distance swimming and distance running. In swimming, one thing we do to help increase speed is sprint intervals. For example, we may swim a 6 x 100 in which we swim 25 fast/75 easy, 50 fast/50 easy, 75 fast/25 easy, 100 fast, 25 easy/75 fast, 50 easy/50 fast, 75 easy/25 fast. So I decided to do something similar on the treadmill - a 6 x 5 min run: 1 min at 6.5mph / 4 min at 4.5mph, 2 mins at 6.5mph / 3 min at 4.5mph, 3 mins at 6.5mph / 2 mins at 4.5mph, 4 mins at 6.5mph / 1 min at 4.5mph, 5 mins at 6.5mph, 1 min at 4.5mph / 4 mins at 6.5mph, 2 mins at 4.5mph / 3 mins at 6.5mph, 3 mins at 4.5mph / 2 mins 6.5mph, 4 mins at 4.5mph / 1 min at 6.5mph. It killed me. I found that my 4.5mph active recoveries were either not slow enough or not long enough. I didn't even make it to 5 mins at 6.5mph. Three minutes at 6.5mph was all I could do. And I know that since I can run a 5k at an average speed of 6mph, training at 6.5mph is not an unreasonably high speed for me. I just need to figure out the best way to tweak my sprint intervals so that they're doable but also beneficial in helping to increase my speed overall. Any ideas?
Also, is hill running more beneficial for increasing speed or endurance? Or both? I live in the hill country of central Texas and hills cannot be avoided (I have developed a love-hate relationship with our hills).
I would appreciate any advice. And if any of you would like a new MFP running friend, feel free to add me. I accept all runners and swimmers.
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I'm new to the running thing (been running about a year now). Most of the various sources I've read over this time all seem to encourage hill work (as well as intervals or repeats) for training for any distance.
My perception is that hillwork will in particular help build leg muscle.
I also live in a rather hilly area which adds a lot of spice to my workouts.
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I wouldn't worry about intervals just yet. You're still very new to running distances. Work first on increasing your time/distance. That will improve your endurance which will improve your speed. It takes time though.
And yes, central Texas hills. I also love/hate them. It's almost impossible to find even one flat mile and just my regular runs in my neighborhood are hill workouts. They are really good for you though. For speed and endurance and also for strengthening your posterior chain.0 -
I wouldn't worry about intervals just yet. You're still very new to running distances. Work first on increasing your time/distance. That will improve your endurance which will improve your speed. It takes time though.
And yes, central Texas hills. I also love/hate them. It's almost impossible to find even one flat mile and just my regular runs in my neighborhood are hill workouts. They are really good for you though. For speed and endurance and also for strengthening your posterior chain.
Yup. I would second ditching intervals, for now. Build up a solid mileage base. Once you get up to 30+ MPW, then introduce some lactic threshold work so your legs can keep up with your heart. Doing speedwork at this point in time is like putting a spoiler on a Pinto.
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I wouldn't worry about intervals just yet. You're still very new to running distances. Work first on increasing your time/distance. That will improve your endurance which will improve your speed. It takes time though.
And yes, central Texas hills. I also love/hate them. It's almost impossible to find even one flat mile and just my regular runs in my neighborhood are hill workouts. They are really good for you though. For speed and endurance and also for strengthening your posterior chain.
I'll be running a 5k Galveston this weekend. It will be interesting to see how my 5k on flat land compares to my 5k on hills. I don't think I have ever run more than 1/2 mile on flat land other than a treadmill (and even then, I always have it set to 2-5 on the incline).SonicDeathMonkey80 wrote: »Yup. I would second ditching intervals, for now. Build up a solid mileage base. Once you get up to 30+ MPW, then introduce some lactic threshold work so your legs can keep up with your heart. Doing speedwork at this point in time is like putting a spoiler on a Pinto.
Lol - did you just compare me to a pinto? Great analogy. I was wondering about speed vs. distance as well and I tend to agree that I should be focusing on distance rather than speed. And honestly, I'm not really running for competition as much as I am for fitness at the moment. But that first 5k I did got me so high, I had to immediately go home and sign up for another 5k.
Thanks for the advice. I'll take it. Distance first. Speed later.
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Yes, MORE MILES!
community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1217573/so-you-want-to-start-running/p1
I cut a big chunk off of my 5k time when I trained for a half marathon.0 -
The_Enginerd wrote: »Yes, MORE MILES!
community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1217573/so-you-want-to-start-running/p1
I cut a big chunk off of my 5k time when I trained for a half marathon.
So did I lol.
My 5k PR was 1 month post-half.
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Congratulations on being off to such a good start!
I mostly agree with the other posters, that building distance is much more important than speed at this point. But I also think that always running at a medium speed, which is what most people tend to do, is not ideal. I'd suggest using Smart Coach from Runner's World. You input your current mileage and how hard you want to work (at this point you should say easy), your recent race results, and it will put together a plan for you. When I tried it I had been running longer than you have been, but was at about the same performance level. It was surprising to me how much slower it had me going for two of my runs (one easy and one "long"). Then it had one speed workout a week alternating between intervals and tempo runs. Not only did it help my speed, but overall running became easier. The slower runs really helped my recovery.0 -
Going to send you a friend request, as I'm a runner in Houston. Enjoy those hills! My "hills" are some mountain bike trails I run on occasion. Not the same!
As others said, more miles will improve you. I'm finishing up my second year of running and have dramatically improved my 5K times just by getting in shape for the HM's I've run. My 5K PR was a week after my most recent HM (and good for 3rd in my age group). My first 5K took me 38 minutes. I'm ten minutes faster now just by "more miles".
Entering my third year of running, I'm finally going to get focused on a training plan that has speed work. I'll be following the principles of 80/20 (mostly easy runs with some speed work).0 -
I wouldn't worry about intervals just yet. You're still very new to running distances. Work first on increasing your time/distance. That will improve your endurance which will improve your speed. It takes time though.
And yes, central Texas hills. I also love/hate them. It's almost impossible to find even one flat mile and just my regular runs in my neighborhood are hill workouts. They are really good for you though. For speed and endurance and also for strengthening your posterior chain.
I'll be running a 5k Galveston this weekend. It will be interesting to see how my 5k on flat land compares to my 5k on hills. I don't think I have ever run more than 1/2 mile on flat land other than a treadmill (and even then, I always have it set to 2-5 on the incline).SonicDeathMonkey80 wrote: »Yup. I would second ditching intervals, for now. Build up a solid mileage base. Once you get up to 30+ MPW, then introduce some lactic threshold work so your legs can keep up with your heart. Doing speedwork at this point in time is like putting a spoiler on a Pinto.
Lol - did you just compare me to a pinto? Great analogy. I was wondering about speed vs. distance as well and I tend to agree that I should be focusing on distance rather than speed. And honestly, I'm not really running for competition as much as I am for fitness at the moment. But that first 5k I did got me so high, I had to immediately go home and sign up for another 5k.
Thanks for the advice. I'll take it. Distance first. Speed later.
The comparison was in no intended to insult you, just trying to make a point. I ran my first 5K in about 34 minutes and made the mistake of trying to train that distance faster each time to "make it stick." It doesn't work like that. You don't want to give 110% to this, or you will injure yourself and/or mentally burnout. I consider my training runs to be equivalent to a late 90's Honda Civic 4-door, and when I race, I try to be a bitchin' 79 Camaro
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Just one other point to consider - treadmills are notoriously wrong on their accuracy for both speed and distance so if you had it set at 6.5 you may in fact have been running much faster than this. At least you would have been if you were on the one at my gym that is the "favorite" machine. I'm still trying to get past the "Pinto with a spoiler" idea - LOL. Run strong! Enjoy!0
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SonicDeathMonkey80 wrote: »The comparison was in no intended to insult you, just trying to make a point.
Oh, I knew you weren't trying to insult me. I thought it was a great analogy!
ANYWAY, so I ran my second 5k on Dec. 21, 3 weeks after my first 5k, and ran it 3:34 faster than the first 5k! Albeit, the first 5k was slopier than the second but I find it hard to believe that it was slopier enough to account for a 3:34 difference. I have no idea how I could have improved my 5k pace by 3:34 in 3 weeks.
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Just one other point to consider - treadmills are notoriously wrong on their accuracy for both speed and distance so if you had it set at 6.5 you may in fact have been running much faster than this. At least you would have been if you were on the one at my gym that is the "favorite" machine. I'm still trying to get past the "Pinto with a spoiler" idea - LOL. Run strong! Enjoy!
Just to reineforce this point, I had the treadmill set at 6.5mph ( 9:13/mi). I have a Garmin footpod, I got 8:22, 8:30ish, 8:43 for my splits.0 -
ANYWAY, so I ran my second 5k on Dec. 21, 3 weeks after my first 5k, and ran it 3:34 faster than the first 5k! Albeit, the first 5k was slopier than the second but I find it hard to believe that it was slopier enough to account for a 3:34 difference. I have no idea how I could have improved my 5k pace by 3:34 in 3 weeks.
Congratulations on the new PB! Although you're still new to running (and hence improving faster), you're probably right that 3:34 does not purely reflect an increase in your ability to run. However, apart from the hills, a 5k race is also about judging pace, and knowing how hard to push yourself, which is something you'll improve with every race you run.
In terms of training advice, I think I would also focus not too much on speed work just yet. Keep in mind that, because you've been a swimmer, your aerobic capacity is probably quite good for a beginner - that's great for your running times, of course, but it also means that your cardiovascular system may be in better shape than your muscles, particularly those that support your joints while you're running. Hence, I would try not to increase the mileage too quickly, in order to avoid injury - about 10% more every few weeks seems to be a good advice for beginners.0 -
That's a really great time for your 5ks! I know it's exciting when you first start running. You see a lot of improvements in a short period of time. If you keep running (mileage over time as others have stated), you will continue to see improvements.
Running on a treadmill at a constant speed is very boring for most, so I can see why you are inclined to do intervals. I don't think there's anything wrong with doing some workouts or intervals at this point in your training, but I would keep it to 1x a week at this point. Perhaps add in a "long run" to your routine. What's the furthest you've ran? Maybe build to 4-6 miles 1x a week. If you already do that, up it by 5 min.
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My fastest 5K was actually a surprise. I was running my second half marathon and increasing the pace toward the end. At some point in the last 3.1 miles of the half I beat my 5K PR. By a minute.0
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