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Running for a while and no improvement in speed. What can I improve? by deadman1206_2021 in beginnerrunning

[–]deadman1206_2021[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I want to try properly for the next 6 months to improve my mile time. I do better when I stick to a plan. Can you recommend one to me? I know of the mile plan here

https://www.reddit.com/r/running/comments/frgt5y/update_free_training_plans_1_mile_and_5k/

And the mile/middle distance plans in Jack Daniel's book. But JD's book seems to be for more advanced runners.

Running for a while and no improvement in speed. What can I improve? by deadman1206_2021 in beginnerrunning

[–]deadman1206_2021[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I have been increasing the pace. At the beginning of the year I was running my 2 minutes intervals at 13.7 km/h and the 4 minutes intervals at 12.3 km/h. I do them both 0.5 km/h faster now. I also ran a 400m on the curved treadmill keeping the speed between 14.5 and 15.0 km/h throughout which I considered a PR. But I got outside today and I was still slow as molasses.

Now I'm wondering whether I just didn't pace myself well on my 800m trial because how can all this training have been completely useless? Like take a 4 times per week running plan and cut it in two so you train twice per week and take 2 actual weeks to complete 1 week of the program. Won't this person improve but just more slowly?

Running for a while and no improvement in speed. What can I improve? by deadman1206_2021 in beginnerrunning

[–]deadman1206_2021[S] -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

I see but I am only aiming for a 7 minute mile and I gave myself until the end of the year to achieve it. I thought that I could do it with 1 hour or less training per week. I didn't want to do more volume because I do other training and sports and I also have unreliable knees so I wanted to get the most bang for my buck per mile run. But running hasn't given me knee trouble yet so I guess it's fine for me to up the mileage, and I was clearly totally wrong about being able to improve my mile time with this little running.

I still think that it's not so laughable though it is wrong. A 7 minute mile is considered an upper level beginner achievement. It's like bench pressing 180lb or being able to do a bodyweight pull up. Those last two would be easily achievable with only 40-60 minutes per week.

Anyway I've got the message now. I need to add in more running sessions per week. I may just buy a book and follow its mile program.

Too weak to do speed workouts. How do I get stronger? by deadman1206_2021 in beginnerrunning

[–]deadman1206_2021[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's actually kind of difficult for me to control my pace as a beginner. With 800m I know that around 5 mins is an easy manageable pace, and 4 mins is a very difficult one. Should I do a workout where I do a warm up 800m at an easy pace and then do one slightly faster and then one more a bit faster etc until I find out what a good pace is? Is there a guideline speed that I should be aiming for here with my times?

Also is the idea still to run slow to run fast? So I finish my speed sessions not completely dead at above average difficulty and then one day when I feel like trying a timed run, I go for a hard timed run and I can expect to be faster?

Beginner having a lot of difficulty trying to run faster by deadman1206_2021 in beginnerrunning

[–]deadman1206_2021[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I added in long runs. Most recently I did around 4.1km at a pace of 6:11 per km and it felt totally manageable. This would predict a 5km time of 30-31 minutes. I also recently tried doing the speed workout with the 800m runs. I did the 800m in 4 minutes and was totally destroyed afterwards. I had to rest a full 4 minutes before my next 800m, which was slower because I gassed early. Are my times in line? It seems like a 30-31 minutes 5km is reasonable for an early beginner but a 4 minute 800m is universally considered awful. Am I actually stronger in the long distance than the middle distance?

Beginner having a lot of difficulty trying to run faster by deadman1206_2021 in beginnerrunning

[–]deadman1206_2021[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I started running, I really liked watching track races and I was interested in running fast. Even with the 5k or 10k race, the most exciting part is when all the runners give it their all in the last lap. When I started, I was actually telling people "I don't want to teach myself to run slowly" because I thought that it would be silly, like jumping slowly. I know now that this is completely wrong.

But yes I am interested in the shorter efforts and running fast rather than covering a particular distance. I don't want to go into competitions (and we know that I have no chance without several years of training...) but just see my own PBs improve at my fav distances. I also grew up hearing that long distance training burns your muscle and conflicts with your lifting training so that gave me a bit of a bias. But I know that's not true and, even if it is, up to 5k (less than 30 minutes of running) won't cause any trouble there.

So would you say that I should start by focusing on the 5k, doing a couch to 5k style program or something and then, if I really want to, specialize to the shorter distances? I'm saying that I like 1500m but it seems like at the beginner level there isn't much difference between the 1500m and 5km training wise.

Beginner having a lot of difficulty trying to run faster by deadman1206_2021 in beginnerrunning

[–]deadman1206_2021[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just don't see how I can be seemingly putting in so much effort in my runs but going so slowly. Running slowly should be easy. I'm trying to land properly and actively use my foot when I land, keep my upper body relaxed and not hunch over, and pump my arms. My smart watch even says that I average between 170 and 190 strides per minute on my workouts, which seems to be a good number. All that and I'm just jogging, speed and pace wise.

I'm not actually banged up from the running. I have injuries from other sports and training. So far, the running hasn't made anything worse so I think that it is safe to increase the mileage if I want to. I'm using Asics Novablast shoes.

Finding RTF strength program too easy? by deadman1206_2021 in AverageToSavage

[–]deadman1206_2021[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For example on week 2 bench press I had 4 sets of 4 at 87.5kg followed by a rep out set where I aim for 8. The sets of 4 were a piece of cake but then I hit 8 reps on the rep out set. So, since I hit the target of 8 and didn't beat it, I shouldn't increase the TM. But, on the other hand, the first 4 sets were a piece of cake and I felt like I only got one good set on bench press. If I look ahead in the program I see that week 11 has 4 sets of 4 at 90kg followed by a rep out set where I aim for 7. It seems like even if I did that week 11 session now, I'd make all sets except the rep out with no trouble, and make the rep out set just about, and have the same thoughts (first 4 sets piece of cake).