Runners: Increasing my current pace

Tons of great replies!!

Scorpio, I'm running about 8-10 mpw.

Does that bake a cake or do I need to be more cake boss?

Most experienced runners will tell a person that they need to be CONSISTENTLY running at least 20-30 miles/week (for at least a couple of months) or so before thinking about any real structured speed workouts. 8-10 mpw is recipe for injury if you start throwing in speed work. Most of a runner's miles should be at a comfortable pace. There is a popular play on Michael Pollan's "eat plants" statement that goes "Run lots. Mostly easy. Sometimes fast."

And, to use myself as an example...I've been running 20-30 miles for the past several months PLUS biking 40-60 in preparation for a half-marathon and a 25k (not running for PR, just for fun with friends). My speed work consists of 1 run/week with some intervals thrown in...that is it. When I was training for marathons I would peak ~55mpw, but that was with minimal speed work, as well, since that's really bare bones marathon mileage and I was pretty much toast on that.

Running Warehouse has a good article on how to approach speed work:
http://www.runningwarehouse.com/LearningCenter/speedwork.html

Based on your current 8 to 10 miles per week, I will echo what another posted stated. You need to run more, with 90% of it being easy until you build a consistent base of 25 to 30 miles per week for at least 3 months. THEN, you can crack up Daniel's Running Formula. Until then, don't even open the book. Just go out and run easy. Don't try to increase your mileage too quickly. Some people will throw out the number 10% increase per week, but this really adds up too fast. For you, I would suggest going up by about 2 to 3 miles and staying there for 2 weeks, then dropping to previous level for one week, then bumping up by 2 more for two week, lather, rinse repeat. Your weekly totals might look like this.

10
12
12
10
14
14
12
17
17
14
20
20
17

Something like that. If you start to get too sore and tired, back down a bit. It takes time, lots of time to build a solid base. Don't rush it. All of those runs should be done at a conversational pace. As your body becomes more efficient, your pace will naturally come down without the addition of specific speed work. If you want to, maybe do half of one run each week at a little faster than conversational pace. Make it the second half of the run, not the first. One day a week, you can also do 4x50 meter strides at the end of one run. These are pretty fast running. Not a sprint, but probably closer to mile race pace. This will get your body comfortable at running at a faster pace.

Good luck!

And get off the dreadmill and hit the pavement!

I found that my winter treadmill workouts where I could control the pace were really helpful in increasing my speed. I was running at a 12:30 pace last summer and just last week I finished a 5K at a 9:15 pace. I much prefer to run outside, but the treadmill was useful