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Erica C.
Erica C. Sendmail

Speed vs endurance

posted about 2 years ago | Report

I was so proud of myself today, I ran an 11 min mile pace really comfortably the whole 4 miles. I then saw a bunch of other postings about 4 mile runs and everyone is so much faster. I don't want to discount my own efforts, but somehow I feel like my four miles is less of an accomplishment because it's so slow. I'm not sure if I need a pep talk or if I need to do some interval training to increase my speed or if I should just not worry about it. I feel good running my plowhorse pace. I'm not a gazelle and don't ever expect to be. Thoughts?

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  • Samantha
    Samantha Sendmail

    I wouldn't worry about it at all. When I first started out I was about 10:30-11:00 pace...and now i'm able to run at abou 9:15 pace consistently for longer distances. I suppose some interval training won't hurt, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you want to get your times down...you'll do it! It takes time sometimes...

    posted about 2 years ago | Report

  • Marty
    Marty Sendmail

    I meant to (and thought I did) respond to this last week. Not sure how/why I didn't. Anyway, I would offer two suggestions: 1) don't worry about what others are doing. I have a dailymile friend that is running 50-60 miles a week at a sub-7 minute pace. Does that impress me? Absolutely! But, I have made it a point to only compare myself to myself. What I mean is, I am improving and can see that (as you can that you are improving). I doubt I'll ever run one mile as fast as this guy is averaging for so many, but I know that I am better/faster/stronger now than was a few months ago... and hopefully will continue the trend of improvement. 2) IF you decide that speed is important, intervals and hill work are the two things I've been told are the best way to increase speed. I posted a few links on one of your other posts, but *please* keep in mind that these are stressful workouts that are more likely to lead to injury than any other type. So, don't overdo it (either by pushing too hard on one run or doing too many of these runs in a short period of time).

    Don't forget... this supposed to be fun!

    posted about 2 years ago | Report

  • Erica C.
    Erica C. Sendmail

    I know you're right. I am so much stronger now than I was. And I've only got this bod to work with, pushing just to keep up is silly, especially if I end up with an injury that sidelines me altogether! Thanks for the pep talk Marty! I really appreciate it.

    posted about 2 years ago | Report

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