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

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  • graelwyn
    graelwyn Posts: 1,340 Member
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    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: 1,261 Member
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    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
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    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
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    bump
  • mamaclose
    mamaclose Posts: 219 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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.
  • RaeN81
    RaeN81 Posts: 535 Member
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    Speed work is often done through interval training. I have been working on this. 6.0 mph is my comfortable fast pace but I can push into 7.0 for short .25 mile bursts. Hoping to lengthen the bursts and keep the base pace higher. Even at my fastest I am just barely able to do a 9 min mile. I have found that you can actually have the same as your base pace if you run for 4 min and brisk walk for 1 min. I really have tested this theory and it holds true for me, might be something to try.
  • Angelie28
    Angelie28 Posts: 197 Member
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    bump
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    I think you need to get faster - slowly!
    I know that sounds dumb, but what I mean is that you would be wise to increase mileage and build in speedwork (intervals, fartleks) at a slow and steady pace.
    I pushed myself through a half marathon training program with a time goal last year and ended up with an injury that prevented me running 21.1 (I swapped to 10k). With hindsight, I think it was too much too soon.
  • lacewitch
    lacewitch Posts: 766 Member
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    interval training is meant to be good for this.
  • RAF_Guy
    RAF_Guy Posts: 230 Member
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    Obviously, everybody is different, but for me the secret was to get a uniform cadence going.

    By that I mean, make sure you run with your feet hitting the ground at regular intervals, about 180 paces per minute. Once you get used to running at this pace, you can then start to increase your stride, but not your cadence, when you feel good. If you start to feel too out of breath, reduce your stride length. Using this techinque I was able to take 2 minutes off my 5km run in a matter of a couple of weeks.
  • NakAttack
    NakAttack Posts: 64 Member
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    Once again, thank you for all of the words of advice and encouragement. I am going to try a few things today and see how it goes!
  • jgic2009
    jgic2009 Posts: 531 Member
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    As mentioned, fartleks are a great training tool.

    You could also add in some hill workouts and more structured intervals.

    And, as with all things related to health and fitness: be patient.
  • LanderRose81
    LanderRose81 Posts: 237 Member
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    This is all great advice!

    I have run a few 5ks with times between 39 - 42 minutes. I was off for a while with some knee injuries and so I thought I would use the C25K program to get back into running. I am loving it! But - I will want to work on my speed once I finish the program! As I am also a very slow runner. :ohwell:

    But hey - at least we are all OUT THERE moving! :drinker:
  • montana_girl
    montana_girl Posts: 1,403 Member
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    I was a slower runner (okay, still am compared to a lot of runners), but I'm improving. I have only been running about 3 years and the first 2 years I was pretty much at a 11:30-12:00 minute mile. But this last year, my speed has been improving greatly. And honestly, I couldn't tell you why! :huh:

    I have always run three days a week (two short runs and a long training run for half marathons), but in the last 6 to 8 months I have been more consistant with my strength training (as in, I haven't been blowing it off to lay on the couch LOL). And without realizing it, I was incorporating Fartleks into my short runs. I would run for about a mile, then do short sprint, back to my normal pace to get my breathing under control, then another short sprint.

    Must be working, because most of my runs since April have been under an 11 minute mile... with my best pace last weekend. I did a 10K race and finished with 10:06 pace per mile! :noway:

    So my best advice, just keep running. Pick a day to be your "long run" day and start increasing your miles. Pick one of your short runs to do intervals/sprints or Fartleks. And do some strenght training -- especially for your core muscles.

    You will get faster... and it may happen when you least expect it! :flowerforyou:
  • InTheInbetween
    InTheInbetween Posts: 192 Member
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    Fartleks and Intervals, fartleks and intervals, fartleks and intervals!!

    (I know it's already been said, I'm just reaffirming it! :wink: )

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