I think it's a little early to run that fast. Give it time. Oh wait you said besides that. nevermind, I got nothing.

Thanks for the feedback. Trying to loosen up a bit more is a great tip. Time to keep plugging away. I was hoping for a breakthrough going a bit faster, kinda force my body to adapt.

I think just giving it time is the best advice. My pace has increased quite well over the past month and thats with mostly easy running. It will come as your form adjusts. Downhills are still tough for me too. Im 6ft 2" and I used to use that to my advantage going downhill. I find now I have to shorten my stride considerably to avoid heel striking. To make up for this I try to increase my leg turnover.

With loose hips you can open up your stride considerably and still avoid heel striking. As an exercise, while running try to keep your foot on the ground a moment longer than you normally would have, letting your leg travel out further behind you. You'll feel your hips rotate.

Will try this thanks. Would this be specifically for downhills or in general? Can I pick your experienced brain on another point. - I appear to be landing on the outside of my feet (forefoot). This seems to be the case in Vibrams or trainers. I have developed some discomfort on my right foot, almost like a tingling numbness that shoots right up through my small toe. I can run through this but it is obviously related to my foot strike. I have wore trainers now on a few occasions to allow some healing but am reluctant to wear them more often. Is this a normal foot strike for ball-heel striking. I should also say that I have developed some discomfort in my left hip. Could this all be related to my foot strike.

I have just posted this on the 101 forum to see if some ball-heel stikers say this normal and perhaps I just need to ease off a little for now.

I try to land more flat. If I allow myself to do that sort of outside landing I get knee pains.