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How can I improve my speed? (Read 92 times)

CanadianMeg


#RunEveryDay

     

    I just posted most of my runs in my log of the past month (a few dates I didn’t track but I think my runs are well represented in the log, including my first easy run yesterday). 
    Are you able to see my log?  How can I make it public?  Do you have any thoughts after seeing it?

     

    I can see your log. That's great. You'll get better info that way. My first thought is don't tempo every day. Mostly easy, sometimes hard. Tempo is comfortably hard. Leave those to once a week or do some fast finishes in the last half mile of a 4 or 5 mile run.

     

    And don't overthink recovery. After a run, walk a bit to let your heart rate come down. Do some stretching as you cool down. Drink and try to eat something within an hour. And when I say eat, keep it proportional to your run. If you run 5k, you don't need a big snack. Just a few calories. (I like a glass of chocolate milk post-run). Recovery days can be active recovery with other activities like yoga or walking or whatever you like. It's very individual. Try different things and see what you like.

    Half Fanatic #9292. 

    Game Admin for RA Running Game 2023.

    Runninman


       

      I can see your log. That's great. You'll get better info that way. My first thought is don't tempo every day. Mostly easy, sometimes hard. Tempo is comfortably hard. Leave those to once a week or do some fast finishes in the last half mile of a 4 or 5 mile run.

       

      And don't overthink recovery. After a run, walk a bit to let your heart rate come down. Do some stretching as you cool down. Drink and try to eat something within an hour. And when I say eat, keep it proportional to your run. If you run 5k, you don't need a big snack. Just a few calories. (I like a glass of chocolate milk post-run). Recovery days can be active recovery with other activities like yoga or walking or whatever you like. It's very individual. Try different things and see what you like.

       

      There were many people who wrote about recovery, which I clearly wasn’t doing.  So I think I did start making it too complicated.  Glad to hear I should not think in those complex terms. 

      I’m not always eating after a run, but I am always drinking , though that’s partly because I was running too fast. Which I’ve now changed.  

      How long do you wait after a meal, for example dinner, before you’d run?  Some days during the week I can only run in the evenings.  I’m sure everyone is different and it depends on the meal but I welcome any advice.

      Runninman


         

        Most people take at least a day off from running every week. That doesn't mean lay on the couch and eat pizza; the day off from running should have some activity like bike ride, hike, swim, or some other easy activity.

        (and there's absolutely no reason that training schedules need to follow a 7 day pattern simply because that's how calendars are written)

         

        We all have different ideas, but generally the same idea, of training schedules and patterns. It would be impossible to follow all the advices given on Running Ahead regarding training. People will find what works best for them, and a few will make the mistake of assuming that training pattern and specific workouts will work for everyone else, too. That's why we're giving generalized advices.

         

        There are dozens, maybe hundreds, of "one size fits most" training plans freely available online, ready to be discovered with a magical combination of search-words.

         

        Thanks for all the information.  I already began searching for different training ideas online that can fit my schedule and my past few runs have all been easy per your and others recommendations.  

        At the moment I’m roughly running half the weekly miles you mentioned before when saying I’ll likely notice much improvement with 40+ weekly miles.  If increased my weekly miles by 20% each week, I could likely reach that level in about a month. By doing so, I’d likely have to run at an even easier pace than I’m doing now.  Is it worth the initial pace sacrifice to gain total miles or must I try to maintain my per-milage pace when increasing miles?


        an amazing likeness

           .. By doing so, I’d likely have to run at an even easier pace than I’m doing now.  Is it worth the initial pace sacrifice to gain total miles or must I try to maintain my per-milage pace when increasing miles?

           

          Yes, to run more miles and build base you'll want to ease up.

           

          In your general every day running (as opposed to a specific workout with target pace), run by effort and feel, not pace. 'Easy', 'Hard', etc, are efforts (how it feels) and shouldn't be treated as target paces.  As a personal example, I've logged 'easy' workouts where the pace was faster than the 'hard' effort workout done the previous day -- weather, mental, body battery, etc, all come into play.

          Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

             

            Thanks for all the information.  I already began searching for different training ideas online that can fit my schedule and my past few runs have all been easy per your and others recommendations.  

            At the moment I’m roughly running half the weekly miles you mentioned before when saying I’ll likely notice much improvement with 40+ weekly miles.  If increased my weekly miles by 20% each week, I could likely reach that level in about a month. By doing so, I’d likely have to run at an even easier pace than I’m doing now.  Is it worth the initial pace sacrifice to gain total miles or must I try to maintain my per-milage pace when increasing miles?

             

            By almost everyone's account, more miles at a slower pace will ultimately make you faster than half as many miles at a faster pace. For this phase of training, it doesn't mater so much how fast you run, it's how far. Or more correctly, how much time is spent running. There is an ongoing debate between distance vs time; some saying it's the total miles ran, and others the total time spent running. 15 miles regardless of how long it takes, or 2 hours of elevated heartrate. I'm not going to take sides! Putting in the miles will make your overall training paces faster at a given heartrate; it's all about strength and conditioning. However, just running slow all the time isn't going to prep you for race day. Look up "periodization" for running.

             

            Don't be scared!

            Reportedly, all those sub 2:10 marathoners spend the majority of their training time at paces slower than 9:00/mile, often slower than 10:00, even though they race at 5:00 pace or faster. They might have one workout a week where they go fast. But, they are getting in 100+ miles a week. Of course, these pros have all day to work out, where people with other jobs can only set aside 2-3 hours a day at most.

            60-64 age group  -  University of Oregon alumni  -  Irreverent and Annoying

            CanadianMeg


            #RunEveryDay

              At the moment I’m roughly running half the weekly miles you mentioned before when saying I’ll likely notice much improvement with 40+ weekly miles.  If increased my weekly miles by 20% each week, I could likely reach that level in about a month. By doing so, I’d likely have to run at an even easier pace than I’m doing now.  Is it worth the initial pace sacrifice to gain total miles or must I try to maintain my per-milage pace when increasing miles?

               

              Don't be a hurry to get to that 40mpw. Too much too soon is a recipe for injuries. The usual guideline is increase 10% per week roughly.  Don't get so caught up in the technical details and numbers that you don't enjoy just getting out for that run.

              Half Fanatic #9292. 

              Game Admin for RA Running Game 2023.

              Runninman


                 

                Don't be a hurry to get to that 40mpw. Too much too soon is a recipe for injuries. The usual guideline is increase 10% per week roughly.  Don't get so caught up in the technical details and numbers that you don't enjoy just getting out for that run.

                 

                Thank you. 

                Hopefully this doesn’t qualify as getting too caught up in numbers. But one thing I do is try to keep my miles around a similar pace. So for example if I was running 3 miles and wanted an 8 min pace I’d try to keep each of the miles around that 8 min pace. 
                Is that the best way to keep pace?

                is there a pro/con to keep all 3 miles at the 8 min mark opposed to (for example) the first mile being 7:30, the second mile at 8 and the final mile at 8:30?


                Feeling the growl again

                  In the entirety of the garbage that is social media, and even within RA.com, this thread is an absolute jewel.  Rarely do you see so much good advice shared so clearly and succinctly.

                  "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                   

                  I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

                   


                  an amazing likeness

                    ..

                    is there a pro/con to keep all 3 miles at the 8 min mark opposed to (for example) the first mile being 7:30, the second mile at 8 and the final mile at 8:30?

                     

                    You will get more "pro" from working to reverse that progression and run 8:30 - 8:00 - 7:30.  In general, "fading to the finish" isn't a good approach to the workout.  Best would be the progression of 8:30 - 8:00 - 7:30.  Second best would be 8-8-8.  Least best is the 7:30 - 8 - 8:30 you describe.

                     

                    What you're describing is often called a 'progression run' or 'climbing the ladder'. In a longer workout the ladder goes up and then down like: 8:30 - 8:00 - 7:30 - 8:00 - 8:30. It's a good workout to get used to race pace (the 7:30).

                    Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

                      If you like to watch things instead of reading them, this vid pretty much says all the advices on this thread.

                      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBWGAFInyjQ&ab_channel=JamesDunne

                      60-64 age group  -  University of Oregon alumni  -  Irreverent and Annoying

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