Yup! Run more miles, slowly. That's the best way to get faster in the beginning. Think being able to carry on a conversation while you run, or lip-synching along with your music if you listen to it. Or, if you will, "paper bag pace": if you're not so embarrassed you want to pull a paper bag over your head, it's time to slow down. This applies to your long runs as well as the short ones.

If you have a good idea of distance markers on your usual running routes, you could also try heading out without a GPS watch/without turning on your phone app. That way you're not dealing with the *mental* pressure to hit a pace you have subconsciously deemed "acceptable." I did this when I was recovering from a bad injury this spring and pacing 1-2 minutes above my normal. It 100% saved my sanity.

Lose weight.
Run hills. It makes your legs stronger and greatly increases your lung capacity, and I find that allows me to increase my pace.

What works for me is simply running a lot, a lot more than nearly any internet running plan recommends. 7 days a week with running more than once several days a week; taking one day really short and easy and taking a day off if I need it.

Most of this is easy, some really easy, and less than 15% at any kind of really strenuous effort. Sometimes the easy runs feel kind of hard just because of tiredness but as long as that passes in a day or so I drive on.

This way of training takes a while to payoff but I have found that it works and I have found that once you begin to be conditioned to it even three a day runs feel very good as long as you keep the effort level in the right place.

After months of it you become strong and tireless and can hold hard paces in races much longer than you think possible.

The only caveat is that you often are on the edge of overtraining and under recovery so you have to be careful and monitor yourself; backing off when needed.

I have crossed this line before and once your performance begins to soar it's easy to cross the line in training and dig yourself a huge hole of fatigue where your improvement stops and eventually declines. This is probably the most important thing; not to cross that line because it wipes out the long term consistency required for the huge payoff of high mileage.

So for maximum improvement you just need to do the maximum amount of running you can absorb and recover from. Since nearly all, 80% or more, is easy if one is training right most people could easily run a lot more without any great risk.

The other lesson I learned is that getting my running form near perfect allows me to run a lot pain free and also frees me from worrying about shoes. I run barefoot some on short runs, in five fingers for many runs, and in a light pair of Brooks Connect when I feel like a little cushioning or when it's dark and I can't see what I'm stepping on.

Just keep doing it, and the speed will come with time & miles. Plus 12 weeks from now, it will be cooler, and all this summer training will pay off and you'll be faster when the temperatures drop

Wow, I thought I had plenty of time to train as I don't have kids but I'm not sure I'd manage 10-12 hours! And if I did, I'd be wanting elite-level results to make it worth it! I do want to be a better runner, but I guess I'm just not driven enough to make it my only focus.

Eek, I didn't mean to say that's not a valid choice! My coach does (sort-of) Lydiard style too, and I train (running) probably more like 6-8 hours per week. But for the level of runner I am (decent but not ever likely to be amazing), I personally don't feel that 10+ hours of running per week are necessary or would lead to a level of improvement significantly beyond what I get out of my current training. Totally agree about the gentle, progressive build-up.