What speed is the right speed? (Read 1436 times)

I am up and down. Some days I do my 5 miles at about 10 min/mile pace and some days I'm at 11:30min/mile. But I always wonder, Am I running too slow? What would put me in the catergory of a "good" runner? Should my speed be improving with every run? Hmmmmm....... Any ideas?

I am up and down. Some days I do my 5 miles at about 10 min/mile pace and some days I'm at 11:30min/mile. But I always wonder, Am I running too slow? What would put me in the catergory of a "good" runner? Should my speed be improving with every run? Hmmmmm....... Any ideas?

Approximately 2 min per mile slower than what you currently can race a 5k at. I agree with dnephin about varying your distances. Especially imporant would be doing a longer run each week.

I'm in the same boat. My pace is all over the board. I've only been running since Oct 07, but I REALLY want to be a faster runner. I had my very first ever race yesterday and was really disappointed that I couldn't get my pace under 10mm. I had a pretty bad side stitch in the second half and that slowed me down a bit. I live in a pretty hilly area, so that's one reason for my varied paces. So, being a 40 year old female who never ran in the past, is it possible to get my pace to say...around 8:30mm?? I did a search on increased pace, but would love some ideas directly related to my log. My longest run so far has been 8 miles and it's still pretty hard on me. Some of my ideas are: working on slowly increasing my long run, making my weekly easy runs in the 5 mile range and ::gasp:: doing more fartleks. How about doing hill repeats? I have a GREAT hill nearby that is short and steep. Would it be good to incorporate that hill run every so often? I feel like I'm at a wall and just need to push my pace up on my tempos. Get out of my comfort zone I'm thinking. Sorry to hijack the thread, but I think this my apply to both of us bmd. Oh and I'm also doing some light training for a 65 mile bike ride on April 27th, so my running plan is somewhat messed up for the next few weeks. I would love to find a printable training program like the one at Runner's World that is a 5 day a week schedule. I don't want to take 3 days off. Anyway, that schedule seems to be exactly what I'm running now (if not a slower pace) and I'm not seeing any pace improvement. Would you, could you, pretty please.....any of you running guru's take a look at my log and tell me where I need to go from here? Thanks so much! Debi I'm also a HM hopeful in October 08! 1 year running anniversary gift

I asked a question and got a lot of good advice from it regarding some of what you are wondering..My post was "I'm so frustrated".. perhaps something in there might be useful/helpful to you as well. http://www.runningahead.com/forums/topic/7bccd092dfe2401f8e42569a73d8803a

Yeah, I saw that thread. Most of it was about hr training and I have no desire to do that. I have a Garmin 405 and rarely wear the strap. When I do, I never look at the hr. I pretty much can tell when it's working hard and when it's not. I focus a lot on the pace on that darn thing. It taunts me by showing me a 8-9min pace sometimes and then jumps right back to 10-11. Grrrr!!

I'm in the same boat. My pace is all over the board. I've only been running since Oct 07, but I REALLY want to be a faster runner. I had my very first ever race yesterday and was really disappointed that I couldn't get my pace under 10mm. I had a pretty bad side stitch in the second half and that slowed me down a bit. I live in a pretty hilly area, so that's one reason for my varied paces. So, being a 40 year old female who never ran in the past, is it possible to get my pace to say...around 8:30mm?? I did a search on increased pace, but would love some ideas directly related to my log. My longest run so far has been 8 miles and it's still pretty hard on me. Some of my ideas are: working on slowly increasing my long run, making my weekly easy runs in the 5 mile range and ::gasp:: doing more fartleks. How about doing hill repeats? I have a GREAT hill nearby that is short and steep. Would it be good to incorporate that hill run every so often? I feel like I'm at a wall and just need to push my pace up on my tempos. Get out of my comfort zone I'm thinking. Sorry to hijack the thread, but I think this my apply to both of us bmd. Oh and I'm also doing some light training for a 65 mile bike ride on April 27th, so my running plan is somewhat messed up for the next few weeks. I would love to find a printable training program like the one at Runner's World that is a 5 day a week schedule. I don't want to take 3 days off. Anyway, that schedule seems to be exactly what I'm running now (if not a slower pace) and I'm not seeing any pace improvement. Would you, could you, pretty please.....any of you running guru's take a look at my log and tell me where I need to go from here? Thanks so much! Debi I'm also a HM hopeful in October 08! 1 year running anniversary gift

Probaby you will be able to get to a faster pace with time. Most people do if you train consistantly and more importantly patiently - I couldnt break a 10 mm not long ago and I now race below 8:30. But I still run slow most of the time. Looking at your log you currently are doing a long, a tempo, a hill, and only 1 easy most weeks. I wouldnt try to add more speed. Focus on the easy and the long. Work on ramping up your long slow miles and having EASY recovery miles. Ironically going slow helps you go faster eventually. Given your current 10K time, your tempo runs are actually probably too fast. There are of course varying definitions of tempo runs, but they are usually closer to 10K-HM pace. I would slow everything down for awhile and just focus on getting your mileage base nice and strong. When the long run no longer feels like a struggle you will know you are making awesome progress. Sometimes the harder you push, the slower you go.

At first, all you need to worry about is getting mile in, regardless of pace.

That sentence is 100% true and correct. Just run. Don't worry about pace. Don't even wear your watch. Just run.

If I keep my easy runs in the 11-12 min pace, I don't feel like I'm really working out at all.

Peeeerrrrrrfect.

Really??? But shouldn't I feel like I'm exercising? Shouldn't I feel my heart beating and the sweat and actually feel like I had a good work out and didn't just stroll around the block? I'm thinking I need to change my perspective a little bit.

You should feel like that when you're doing one of your fast workouts, but not your slow ones. Most people starting put in effort like experienced runners' hard days on every workout, and pay the injury price. Keep it easy and build the weekly distance. Based on your race, from McMillan's Running Calculator Endurance Workouts Pace/Mile Pace/K Recovery Jogs 12:58 to 13:28 8:04 to 8:23 Long Runs 11:58 to 12:58 7:27 to 8:04 Easy Runs 11:58 to 12:28 7:27 to 7:46 Stamina Workouts Pace/Mile Pace/K Steady-State Runs 10:53 to 11:12 6:46 to 6:57 Tempo Runs 10:26 to 10:53 6:29 to 6:46 Tempo Intervals 10:17 to 10:38 6:23 to 6:37 Speed Workouts Middle Distance Runners Long Distance Runners 400m 2:12.6 to 2:18.3 2:15.3 to 2:23.1 800m 4:30.6 to 4:43.0 4:42.7 to 4:55.8 1000m 5:53.3 to 6:09.8 6:02.1 to 6:16.0 1200m 7:04.5 to 7:23.7 7:14.5 to 7:36.5 1600m 9:39.3 to 10:01.6 9:51.6 to 10:13.4 2000m 12:19.5 to 12:40.8 12:31.9 to 12:46.7