Slow Runners Unite - How to Increase Speed?!?!?!

NakAttack
NakAttack Posts: 64 Member
edited December 22 in Fitness and Exercise
I started to the C25k program back in April of 2011 and graduated in June of 2011. I have since then ran about six 5k's but for the life of me cannot get my time below 11'30" per mile. I am consistent at this pace and can run up the five miles at the pace but I want to get faster. I cross train on days that I do not run which include leg strengthening muscles. At this pace, I can speak comfortably with no more than a notch above normal breathing.

I am beginning to think that I am just a lazy runner, but that cannot be it. Or is it my weight? I weight 181 pounds but I am pretty lean with the exception of my mid section.

Any advice? Thanks in advance for your help guys.
«1345

Replies

  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
    Run more miles (at your current pace). Run more days per week at your current pace.
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
    Bump (I'm slow too)
  • NakAttack
    NakAttack Posts: 64 Member
    Run more miles (at your current pace). Run more days per week at your current pace.

    I am starting to do this...run everyday and pushing myself a half of a mile more each day. Anything else?
  • darrcn5
    darrcn5 Posts: 495 Member
    I am slow too. It takes me 42 minutes to run a 5K :/ My fastest mile time is 11:30, and that just about kills me.
  • muddyventures
    muddyventures Posts: 360 Member
    Run more miles (at your current pace). Run more days per week at your current pace.

    More miles is the advice that is most helping me.. I can now do 9 min miles for 3 miles, and 10 minute miles for 10 and I'm 10.6 min miles for 13. I'm still not speedy but I am working really hard to make a time goal. I'd love to be able to run a 9 minute mile for the whole 13.. we will see.

    I've heard to only increase your total mileage by 10 percent a week... I've been trying to do this but sometimes it takes me more than two weeks to up my miles.
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
    I'm so slow, I've had walkers pass me. My dog is practically standing still next to me while I run. I did pass another runner once but she was probably at the end of a grueling 15 miler. I try to embrace it but wouldn't mind getting a little faster.
  • muddyventures
    muddyventures Posts: 360 Member
    I'm so slow, I've had walkers pass me. My dog is practically standing still next to me while I run. I did pass another runner once but she was probably at the end of a grueling 15 miler. I try to embrace it but wouldn't mind getting a little faster.

    When I first started some lady in a double jogger passed me, it almost put me under. Fortunately I survived.
  • Raychel_P
    Raychel_P Posts: 9 Member
    You can get apps on your smartphone such as cardio trainer that you can program with a speed goal or time goal, and it will give you verbal cues via your headphones on when to speed up and such. I would try it out, and keep trying to decrease your run time slightly by 15-30 seconds at a time. It will help you push yourself to up your speed.
  • mamaclose
    mamaclose Posts: 179 Member
    I've been wondering how to go faster as well. I will definitely increase my distances, that's great advice.
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
    Try some fartleks. That is Swedish for "speedplay." Totally unstructured changes in pace. Warm up for a mile or two, then go full blast to the stop sign, then go easy to the oak tree, then medium pace to the telephone pole.

    As far as that 10% rule, I reject it. I believe in listen to your body. The truth is you could injure yourself at mile 1 or run an extra two miles and be fine.
  • kimchi84
    kimchi84 Posts: 56
    i read on one of the running blog that you should increase your miles and spend 2 or 3 days out of the week to do interval running, meaning sprint for 1 minutes and jog for 2 for about 30 minutes. This will help you built speed hope that helps :)
  • akadrea
    akadrea Posts: 85 Member
    I've got an iphone app that is supposed to help - Jeff Galloway's 5K
  • docdrd
    docdrd Posts: 174 Member
    I am with you!! Apparently, I have only one gear and it is first gear. I am slow! I can go a good distance now, but the pace never seems to change. Sadly.

    I have been told by friends who are serious runners that the only way to increase speed is to do interval training. Because I HATE jogging and because I would not enjoy interval training, I don't do it and instead choose to continue to whine about being slow. But I have been told that if you can run at a fast clip for at least a quarter mile. Then walk or slow jog, then go fast again (repeat and repeat) that that is the way to build up speed. Eventually, your faster pace will be able to be sustained for longer distances. Good luck!
  • parkermegan
    parkermegan Posts: 167
    DON'T run every day....definitely need at least 2 rest days a week from running, I've learned that the hard way.

    I agree on increasing your mileage....if you can comfortably run 8 miles then you should be able to push yourself harder to run 3. I am running super slow right now, but once I get my weekly mileage to about 25 miles a week then I will start trying to reduce some runs by 30 seconds or so and gradually work up.
  • crazyellybean
    crazyellybean Posts: 999 Member
    I'm so slow, I've had walkers pass me. My dog is practically standing still next to me while I run. I did pass another runner once but she was probably at the end of a grueling 15 miler. I try to embrace it but wouldn't mind getting a little faster.

    Exactlyy I am so SLOW.. old man past me using a cane once! ..

    I've read though you shoudl NOT over train by running everyday... so when I run, I run as fast as I can until I can run (usually about 9-10mph) and this has helped some.. but I get tired way faster than when I was running slower
  • TaraMiley
    TaraMiley Posts: 11 Member
    I started running in Sept 2010 with the C25K program. Since then I've completed my first half marathon and run numerous races. I currently work with a running coach and this is what we do to increase speed.

    1. In order to run faster... you have to run faster. I wanted to slap her the first time she said that to me. What she means is speed intervals. For example. After a warm up of a half to one mile run 30 seconds as fast as possible (you should feel like you can't run another step by the end of the 30 seconds), then trot (or even walk) a recovery interval of 60 seconds. Repeat this 6-12 times. Then cool down with a casual paced mile. As you get better at it, increase the speed intervals (45 seconds, 60 seconds, until about 90 secons). Your recovery interval should be twice as long as your speed interval. Do this work out once a week faithfully and you WILL SEE A DIFFERENCE!

    Hope this helps.
  • alltalk199
    alltalk199 Posts: 275
    Hey babe! First off, congratulations with where you are right now and what you have achieved to get there! Keep pushing yourself to pick up on your speed and you will get there! I am on C210k App, hovering around Week 10, building strength and endurance, so for me it's not about speed, however that will come! I use the leg press after my runs, pushing 180kg and that seems to help with running for me!

    Anyway, well done!
  • muddyventures
    muddyventures Posts: 360 Member
    Try some fartleks. That is Swedish for "speedplay." Totally unstructured changes in pace. Warm up for a mile or two, then go full blast to the stop sign, then go easy to the oak tree, then medium pace to the telephone pole.

    As far as that 10% rule, I reject it. I believe in listen to your body. The truth is you could injure yourself at mile 1 or run an extra two miles and be fine.

    great way to explain fartleks... that word always baffled me and even though I'm ready a marathon training book, your explaination is way better.
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
    I started running in Sept 2010 with the C25K program. Since then I've completed my first half marathon and run numerous races. I currently work with a running coach and this is what we do to increase speed.

    1. In order to run faster... you have to run faster. I wanted to slap her the first time she said that to me. What she means is speed intervals. For example. After a warm up of a half to one mile run 30 seconds as fast as possible (you should feel like you can't run another step by the end of the 30 seconds), then trot (or even walk) a recovery interval of 60 seconds. Repeat this 6-12 times. Then cool down with a casual paced mile. As you get better at it, increase the speed intervals (45 seconds, 60 seconds, until about 90 secons). Your recovery interval should be twice as long as your speed interval. Do this work out once a week faithfully and you WILL SEE A DIFFERENCE!

    Hope this helps.

    Thanks! I have actually been doing this with 15-30 second intervals, it sounds like I may need to lengthen them.
  • quill16
    quill16 Posts: 373 Member
    I started running in Sept 2010 with the C25K program. Since then I've completed my first half marathon and run numerous races. I currently work with a running coach and this is what we do to increase speed.

    1. In order to run faster... you have to run faster. I wanted to slap her the first time she said that to me. What she means is speed intervals. For example. After a warm up of a half to one mile run 30 seconds as fast as possible (you should feel like you can't run another step by the end of the 30 seconds), then trot (or even walk) a recovery interval of 60 seconds. Repeat this 6-12 times. Then cool down with a casual paced mile. As you get better at it, increase the speed intervals (45 seconds, 60 seconds, until about 90 secons). Your recovery interval should be twice as long as your speed interval. Do this work out once a week faithfully and you WILL SEE A DIFFERENCE!

    Hope this helps.

    Thanks! I have actually been doing this with 15-30 second intervals, it sounds like I may need to lengthen them.


    I started running in Jan and it took til april to run 3 mile at 5mph (11 min pace). I got there with interval training and it works Great!!!!. I am up to 6.7 Mph for my fast minutes and 5.7 or 6 for the rest. I run 5-7 miles 5-6 days a week.
  • graelwyn
    graelwyn Posts: 1,340 Member
    Started running for the first time a few days ago, on the treadmill at my local gym. Gone on it three times now, and am up to just over 7mph. I can manage about 30-40 minutes if I go at 5-6mph. I am hoping to work up to 10mph over the coming week, probably in 1 mile increments. Not sure if I am doing well or not, but I do have mild emphysema which probably slows me down a bit. My only exercise before was cycling and walking, so this is quite a change for me, and I have to say, I do like running. I was fast at the 100m sprint when younger, and seem good at endurance on my bike, so I shall have to see. I shall hopefully try running outside over the summer, as I prefer the fresh air and having something to look at other than a gym tv and window and it will feel more natural.
  • gogojodee
    gogojodee Posts: 1,243 Member
    I am slow too. It takes me 42 minutes to run a 5K :/ My fastest mile time is 11:30, and that just about kills me.

    Ditto! :( My average 5k time is 44-45. :grumble: :sad:
  • NakAttack
    NakAttack Posts: 64 Member
    Aww....love you guys!!! Thank you for all of the encouragement and advice. So, I think that I am going to try to Fartlek method...because I love the word. I can definitely push myself as well, which I am NOT doing! I will run again on Friday so I will keep you all abreast of the progress!!!

    And the one thing that I love most about running is that I only have to compete with myself! Love that kind of exercise!!!!
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    bump
  • mamaclose
    mamaclose Posts: 179 Member
    Try some fartleks. That is Swedish for "speedplay." Totally unstructured changes in pace. Warm up for a mile or two, then go full blast to the stop sign, then go easy to the oak tree, then medium pace to the telephone pole.

    As far as that 10% rule, I reject it. I believe in listen to your body. The truth is you could injure yourself at mile 1 or run an extra two miles and be fine.

    Ha ha! LOL. I was born and raised in Sweden. (Haven't tried fartleks yet though!)
  • debussyschild
    debussyschild Posts: 804 Member
    My husband encouraged me to do interval training for this. I'm SLOW, too! There's nothing wrong with that, but building speed while building mileage can be tough. One thing that works for me is while on a normal run (say 2-3 miles), perform 10-12 1-minute intervals of running as hard as you can. Put 2 minutes in between each interval and just jog nice and slow so you can recover. Runs like that are not about how fast you can complete the overall run, but rather how hard you can push yourself on each interval. I'm just getting back on the running bandwagon myself and I'm super turtle slow, so I see a couple of interval workouts a week in my future, lol. Good luck and keep running! It only gets better :)
  • sdereski
    sdereski Posts: 3,406 Member
    Try some fartleks. That is Swedish for "speedplay." Totally unstructured changes in pace. Warm up for a mile or two, then go full blast to the stop sign, then go easy to the oak tree, then medium pace to the telephone pole.

    As far as that 10% rule, I reject it. I believe in listen to your body. The truth is you could injure yourself at mile 1 or run an extra two miles and be fine.

    This!!
  • debussyschild
    debussyschild Posts: 804 Member
    DON'T run every day....definitely need at least 2 rest days a week from running, I've learned that the hard way.

    I agree on increasing your mileage....if you can comfortably run 8 miles then you should be able to push yourself harder to run 3. I am running super slow right now, but once I get my weekly mileage to about 25 miles a week then I will start trying to reduce some runs by 30 seconds or so and gradually work up.

    Totally agree with this post. Throughout the week, I mix up short and long runs. Sometimes it's good to take the mileage way down and play with speed then. Point being, try not to increase mileage with every run. You can increase your overall mileage every week or every other week, but every run will wear you out and won't let your joints and muscles adapt to the mileage increase. This can lead to injury, so be careful :)
  • debussyschild
    debussyschild Posts: 804 Member
    Sorry to post like crazy, but the best book I ever bought that spelled out running in simple, easy to understand terms (everything from just starting out to how to train for a marathon) was "The Everything Running Book". Chock full of helpful information that helped me out when I started to run.
  • dare2love81
    dare2love81 Posts: 928 Member
    I too am a slow runner. I run at 4.5 on the treadmill...but I'm currently working on endurance and then I'll work to build up speed.
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