NWR: Running

SoSaysTara

Hey ladies!

Any other runners out there?

Just this weekend, I finally got around to getting measured at a real running shoe store and bought my first pair of professionally-fitted running shoes. 

I got a pair of Brooks and went for my first run in them today.

I already run a 5K pretty regularly and have deided to try to amp up my mileage to a 10K prior to the wedding.

Today, ran 4 miles at a 5.4 mph pace.  I would love to be able to get my 5K to under 30 minutes and my 10K to under 60 minutes, but I just can't seem to sustain the faster paces.  Usually, I run at a 5.0 or 5.

How do you ladies balance speed and distance?

Megbo2012

I usually don't go by mph.  I go by minutes per mile.  I do about 4-6 miles on "distance days" and long runs are 7-10.  On an easier day I do about 7:20-7:40 pace.  When I'm feeling good I'll do 7-7:20. 

I probably started out at 8:30 pace and then eventually running x miles got easier and easier and I got quicker, and able to run more miles.  Started at 3-4.

jeberes08

I also go by minutes per mile.  But, I'm quite slow. I ran my first marathon this past October and I think I averaged 10 minute miles.

acaponi87

I'm kinda weird..I have a general idea of where my mile is but I really do things by feel. I swam year-round in high school so I had to get used to what a pace feels like without being able to look at anything.

It sounds like I'm a pretty similar runner to you. I usually will run a little less than 5K whenever I go out. Probably once a week I will bump it up to 5 miles. I did my first 10K on Thanksgiving and ended up at 54:24 which I was thrilled with..my goal was under an hour also. I generally don't time myself, but sometimes I will pick sections of my run and go hard. I like to think of it as "running harder" rather than "running faster" because I am not a fast runner.

So pick a section. Say you are going to pick up the pace on the last quarter of your 5K. Maybe the week after go harder for the last third.  It doesn't have to be a sprint, but pick up the pace..maybe if your base is 9:00 pick it up to 8:30. It will be easier to do it in sections. Especially when you get to a longer distance like a 10K.  Have a base pace that you can keep up comfortable for the whole distance and then pick it up several times throughout the whole race. I think overtime you will find that your "base pace" will be increasing.

I hope some of that made sense lol

daria24

When training for a race, I run 5 days a week. Days 1 and 3 are middle distance runs, usually 3-5 miles at my normal speed. Days 2 and 4 are speed work outs, usually 2-3 minute fast segments mixed with 1-2 brisk walking. I have found that speed runs on a high incline makes the biggest difference. Day 5 is my long run.

kipnus

I wouldn't call myself a runner, per se, but this is the most running I've ever done in my life. I'm a competitive swimmer and I've always hated running, but every year that I've been in university, I've done the Terry Fox Run in September (5 km) and the Turkey Trot in October (4 km). Usually I quit running after the Turkey Trot and pick it up again around August (ha!), but not this year! I've been running 3x a week pretty consistently (not far, just a mile or two) but at a pace no slower than 6.0 mph. Of course, all of this running since the Turkey Trot has been on a treadmill because I'm a wuss when it comes to running in the cold, and I actually like knowing exactly how fast I'm going and how far. :P  With my three weekly runs, I do one easy run that's just a mile at 6 or 6.1 mph (10 min), one interval run (alternating 1 min at 6mph and 1 min at 7.5 or higher) and one "long" run (has been 2 miles, but I went 2.5 miles today!) at 6 mph or higher. I'm working on going longer for my "long" run, and faster for the other two.

MMRoberts11

I sometimes run and I try to just time myself rather than looking at my speed.  To me, I'm more encouraged to decrease my time rather than thinking about running faster.