Running faster - serious questions

I was getting 10 min miles up until a week ago, so I was having the
same question. It was also at a time when my old shoes were getting
hard to run in. Now running in a new pair (asics gel cumulus), I'm
getting 8:40 with no added effort -- at least until the midsole support
starts wearing down. Sometimes it's as fast as 8:00 for short periods.
So, I'd think shoes can make a big difference.

Linda & Pete said:

Ok everyone, I guess I am still a beginner but why am I still so slow?
For me, a 10 min mile is good! I have no problem with endurance,

Take this with a grain of salt since I'm barely faster than you,
but at this point I believe the answer is to continue building
your aerobic base with occasional fartleks or pyramids thrown in.
Before I began my taper I was dropping about one minute/week on
my Monday morning 6 mile runs. (I use my HRM to ensure I'm not
cheating by running harder.) That's about 10 sec/mile/week. Week
after week after week.

My program did formal speedwork, but I don't think it helped me
and it arguably hurt me since our 5k time trials were on concrete.
The pyramids, 400s and even 800s seemed to help, but I was
running as the same pace in my evening 1200s and 1600s as I was
running in my morning aerobic runs. (That's the difference 20F
makes!)

My advice is to continue running aerobically (you should be able
to sing softly to yourself) and possibly increase your mileage.
(I don't know if your average run is 2 miles or 6.) Then be
patient. You might not see much change from week to week, esp. if
the weather is variable or you're changing your routes, but you
will be getting faster.

eat more fish

(Linda & Pete) said:

Ok everyone, I guess I am still a beginner but why am I still so slow?
For me, a 10 min mile is good! I have no problem with endurance, it's
sort of hard to explain, just seems like my legs don't go fast.
Anyway, I've read all kinds of different ideas to help me but want to
know what really works. Thanks, Linda

If you are relatively new to running, then simply building your aerobic
base will improve your speed.

Another thing to consider is excess weight that you may be carrying. Do you
have excess body fat that you could stand to lose? There was a lot of
discussion on this a while ago on this newsgroup. Go here:
http://tinyurl.com/2bbgm.

Phil M.

--
"Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make
them all yourself." ­Martin Vanbee

"Linda & Pete" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Ok everyone, I guess I am still a beginner but why am I still so slow?
For me, a 10 min mile is good! I have no problem with endurance, it's
sort of hard to explain, just seems like my legs don't go fast.
Anyway, I've read all kinds of different ideas to help me but want to
know what really works. Thanks, Linda

For me it was only time and practice that improved my times at first, then I
started working on my stride and my running posture, and decent shoes.
Mostly though, it was the training runs.

Jenn

10 minute miles? Of course you're not having trouble with
endurance............you're walking.

Linda & Pete said:

Ok everyone, I guess I am still a beginner but why am I still so slow?

Because you're a beginner. Beginners are often slow. Speed takes time.

Quoted message said:

For me, a 10 min mile is good! I have no problem with endurance,

Then you're clearly a better runner than me, because I while I frequently do
16-20 mile training runs and run at a 6:15 or faster for the half marathon, I
wouldn't say that I "have no problem with endurance".

Quoted message said:

it's sort of hard to explain, just seems like my legs don't go fast.

How fast can you sprint 100m ? Faster than 10 minutes per mile ? Everyones
legs can go faster at a shorter distance.

Quoted message said:

Anyway, I've read all kinds of different ideas to help me but want to
know what really works. Thanks, Linda

Patience and lots of running. This will not only improve your endurance, it
will improve your *efficiency*, so you'll have a light, efficient gait as
opposed to the ungainly plodding common among beginners. You may want it to be
more complicated, but for better or worse, it isn't. 99% of it boils down to
"one foot in front of the other". Get out there and run, and you'll get faster.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi
http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

Evian Shore said:

I was getting 10 min miles up until a week ago, so I was having the
same question. It was also at a time when my old shoes were getting
hard to run in. Now running in a new pair (asics gel cumulus), I'm
getting 8:40 with no added effort -- at least until the midsole support
starts wearing down. Sometimes it's as fast as 8:00 for short periods.
So, I'd think shoes can make a big difference.

Shoes are unlikely to make 2:00/mile difference or anything close to that.
Probably a combo of placebo effect + beginner gains.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi
http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

<< You may want it to be
more complicated, but for better or worse, it isn't. 99% of it boils down to
"one foot in front of the other". Get out there and run, and you'll get faster.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi >>

listen to Donovan. he's an Angel.

_______
Blog, or dog? Who knows. But if you see my lost pup, please ping me!
<A
HREF="http://journals.aol.com/virginiaz/DreamingofLeonardo">http://journal
s.aol.com/virginiaz/DreamingofLeonardo</A>

In article <[email hidden]>, Linda &
Pete <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Ok everyone, I guess I am still a beginner but why am I still so slow?
For me, a 10 min mile is good! I have no problem with endurance, it's
sort of hard to explain, just seems like my legs don't go fast.
Anyway, I've read all kinds of different ideas to help me but want to
know what really works. Thanks, Linda

Don't worry about it. A 10 min mile *is* good. When I started out (not
long ago) I was running 12 min miles, and when I was able to do 10s I
was very pleased with myself. You and I are both still in the steep-
learning-curve early stages of running, and if you just keep running you
will get faster without trying as your body figures out how to run more
efficiently.

BTW do you do any speedwork? I do one short session a week, but more for
the fun and variety than in the serious hope it will make me faster.
Part of the fun is just getting to run fast, even if only for a short
while. Plodding along can get a bit discouraging, can't it, especially
if you're often passed by other faster runners. By going fast even for a
short pickup, say for a minute, you get that "Wheee! I'm going fast!"
feeling, and you may get the self-belief that eventually you'll be able
to run that fast for 2 minutes, and then 5 minutes, and who knows, maybe
one day you'll be able to keep it up for 5k and win a race.

On the subject of races, have you run any? I did one and I was delighted
and amazed that a) I ran something like 1 min/mile faster than my usual
training pace, b) I didn't come last, in fact I came in the top 1/3 of
the field, and c) runners who were younger than I, fitter-looking than
I, and both, came behind me. It was very motivating. You should give it
a try.

But I think at this point what's helping me run faster is just running
more. So keep running and don't get discouraged. Have you read any of
John Bingham's writings? He's an evangelist for slow running. He writes
lighthearted, humorous, sometimes schmaltzy columns in Runner's World
about how speed is overrated in running. That's not to say you shouldn't
be trying to get faster, just don't get hung up on speed and miss all
other the great things about running.
--
Mel Rimmer

Quoted message said:

Ok everyone, I guess I am still a beginner but why am I still so slow?
For me, a 10 min mile is good! I have no problem with endurance, it's
sort of hard to explain, just seems like my legs don't go fast.
Anyway, I've read all kinds of different ideas to help me but want to
know what really works. Thanks, Linda

Works for what? WHY do you want to get faster? 10mpm is fine if you just want
to be healthy, it not only cuts down on your chances for injurys, but also
keeps you in the fat burning zone. There is absolutely no legitamit reason to
run faster unless you are training for a race. People who "run fast" just for
the sake of running fast, are morons.

Quoted message said:

I was getting 10 min miles up until a week ago, so I was having the
same question. It was also at a time when my old shoes were getting
hard to run in. Now running in a new pair (asics gel cumulus), I'm
getting 8:40 with no added effort -- at least until the midsole support
starts wearing down. Sometimes it's as fast as 8:00 for short periods.
So, I'd think shoes can make a big difference.

Good point.

Quoted message said:

Shoes are unlikely to make 2:00/mile difference or anything close to that.
Probably a combo of placebo effect + beginner gains.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi

= dumbass.

Quoted message said:

Take this with a grain of salt

A BIG grain, since he is training for a race. A completely different animal.

Quoted message said:

listen to Donovan. he's an Angel.

Butt he's a gay angel, so listen to everything until he gets to the "bend over"
part.

Barf Bag said:

Quoted message said:

Ok everyone, I guess I am still a beginner but why am I still so slow?
For me, a 10 min mile is good! I have no problem with endurance, it's
sort of hard to explain, just seems like my legs don't go fast.
Anyway, I've read all kinds of different ideas to help me but want to
know what really works. Thanks, Linda

Works for what? WHY do you want to get faster? 10mpm is fine if you just want
to be healthy,

bwahahahaha ... you're just afraid that he's going to get faster than you.

Quoted message said:

it not only cuts down on your chances for injurys, but also
keeps you in the fat burning zone.

Oh yes, the fat burning zone myth again.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi
http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

Linda, consider joining a running club, if it's a good one they will
have a wide range of runner ability and you will find yourself being
pulled along by the people around you. Usually, a club will have
speed sessions and you will be asked to run a set distance (fast pace)
and have a two minute recovery then you will run back to where you
started from, this will be done between 6 and 10 times depending on
the distance i.e. 1K, 800m, 600m, etc. Only by doing speed work will
you learn to run faster. Last year, I ran a 52 minute 10K and this
year I am running 47 minute 40 sec. It is a long road and it never
seems easy but, stick in and it will happen.

Barf Bag said:

Quoted message said:

Ok everyone, I guess I am still a beginner but why am I still so slow?
For me, a 10 min mile is good! I have no problem with endurance, it's
sort of hard to explain, just seems like my legs don't go fast.
Anyway, I've read all kinds of different ideas to help me but want to
know what really works. Thanks, Linda

Works for what? WHY do you want to get faster? 10mpm is fine if you just want
to be healthy, it not only cuts down on your chances for injurys, but also
keeps you in the fat burning zone. There is absolutely no legitamit reason to
run faster unless you are training for a race. People who "run fast" just for
the sake of running fast, are morons.

How about running faster just to gain more stamina and burn more
calories for each minute of exercise?

Put another way, is what you said an argument for walking instead of
running unless you want to race?

I wood.

On 26 Sep 2004 11:39:24 -0700, [email hidden]

(Scunnered Runner) said:

Linda, consider joining a running club, if it's a good one they will
have a wide range of runner ability and you will find yourself being
pulled along by the people around you. Usually, a club will have
speed sessions and you will be asked to run a set distance (fast pace)
and have a two minute recovery then you will run back to where you
started from, this will be done between 6 and 10 times depending on
the distance i.e. 1K, 800m, 600m, etc. Only by doing speed work will
you learn to run faster. Last year, I ran a 52 minute 10K and this
year I am running 47 minute 40 sec. It is a long road and it never
seems easy but, stick in and it will happen.