Running - How do I get faster?

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  • dolorsit
    dolorsit Posts: 92 Member
    kayonaise2 wrote: »
    Really heartened to hear that as my weight goes down (which it is, gradually) things will get easier - for some reason that never occurred to me, maybe because I've been fat for so long!
    As someone who's done a lot of running over the last 30 years or so, and whose weight has fluctuated a lot, I find that my running speed is almost directly proportional to my weight. If I lose 10% of my weight, I'll lose 10% of the time for my 5k (plus any fitness gains). So in your case, if you lose 10%, that brings your time down to 45 minutes for free!

    You've been given good advice on how to get faster otherwise. Increasing your weekly mileage will do wonders.
  • pondee629
    pondee629 Posts: 2,469 Member
    kayonaise2 wrote: »
    I completed C25k last year, using the NHS podcast that works you up to running for 30 min. Since then I run twice a week or so, starting and ending with a 5 min walk and running for 30 min in the middle.

    My struggle is that I'm VERY slow and don't seem to be getting any faster. Over Christmas I took the time to do a couple of runs that were actually 5km and it took me 50 mins! On my regular runs I struggle to get my average time per km below 10min.

    My stamina seems to be ok, as running for 50min didn't seem that hard even though I'd never done it before - I could just keep going. But how do I master going faster over shorter times?

    Keeping your conversational pace, try three or four times a week. The goal is to get fitter and have that conversational pace get faster naturally. AS you progress, you'll add distance at the same perceived effort. You run longer and faster without knowing it.
  • westrich20940
    westrich20940 Posts: 865 Member
    What is your current mileage per week right now? Some others have suggested doing actual speed work like intervals (walking and sprinting for short times)....but you can also increase your pace by increasing your mileage WITHOUT increasing pace. So...run slow but get more mileage in (not too quickly, stick to the 10% rule)...but if you can run say.....8 miles at a slow pace (11/12 min mile), then you can run a 5K at a much faster pace.

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