Speed vs. Distance Issue

In article said:

I find that I can run, at a 12 minute pace, around 3 miles (maybe 4 on a good day). However, at a
9 minute/mile pace, I'm struggling to complete one mile.

At this point, am I better off backing off on the distance and focusing on speed, or will it be
easier to increase the speed later? Ultimately, I would like to get to 8 minute miles.

Focus on running at an easy pace. Don't push yourself close to the limits, there's little to gain by
doing so. If you can run 3 miles at a 12 minute pace, try doing 3 mile runs, but take walk breaks
each mile. You should not only be able to do your runs, they should be pretty easy.

Aim for consistent training and your endurance will improve. If you have good endurance, you will be
able to do a mile in much less than 8 minutes.

It is way premature to do anything about speed at this stage.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

Donovan Rebbechi said:

In article said:

I find that I can run, at a 12 minute pace, around 3 miles (maybe 4 on a good day). However, at a
9 minute/mile pace, I'm struggling to complete one mile.

At this point, am I better off backing off on the distance and focusing on speed, or will it be
easier to increase the speed later? Ultimately, I would like to get to 8 minute miles.

Quoted message said:

Focus on running at an easy pace. Don't push yourself close to the limits, there's little to gain
by doing so. If you can run 3 miles at a 12 minute pace, try doing 3 mile runs, but take walk
breaks each mile. You should not only be able to do your runs, they should be pretty easy.

---I would agree that you should focus on running longer distances at an easier pace. You need to
build endurance and aerobic ability before you worry about speed. If you focus onn speed now I
guarantee you won't get there. As for the walk breaks, my opinion differs. I think you should focus
on running the whole distance if only for the mental benefit (we'll leave the constant-running
benefit side out of the argument for now). As for pushing the limits, to a certain extent this can
be good too. Your body adapts to stresses so the next time it encounters that stress it can cope
better. So a hard run once a week will probably help you out because it helps your aerobic
development. However over-doing the intensity is always counter-productive.

Quoted message said:

Aim for consistent training and your endurance will improve. If you have good endurance, you will
be able to do a mile in much less than 8 minutes.

--Consistency is #1! Andy Hass

kjw <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I find that I can run, at a 12 minute pace, around 3 miles (maybe 4 on a good day). However, at a
9 minute/mile pace, I'm struggling to complete one mile.

At this point, am I better off backing off on the distance and focusing on speed, or will it be
easier to increase the speed later?

Try lifting one foot off the ground *before* the other lands.

Carry at most one child, no older than 18 months.