Tonight I have a 90mins run which I should be going out side to do but Im going to hit the treadmill so I can work on my pace. I tend to find because the treadmill doesnt give up when your feeling a wee bit tired it seems to help when I go outside.

Im going to try and hit the 9min mile and keep it going, Ive worked out that if I want to get under the 2 hour 1/2 marathon I need to hit 9 minute miles and stick to it. So we will see how I get on tonight

How does everyone else try and increase their pace? Does it just happen naturally or do you really need to work at it?

O.

Hahahahahaha - I'm sure that's cheating!

Good luck with your run though!

Can't answer your last question because I'm increasing distance for the moment and will do pace work when I'm happier with that.

One way of increasing your pace is by doing repetition runs. Start with short ones, say 120m. Do ten for starters, running at just short of full speed, at a pace you can maintain throughout the session. If your tenth one is slower, then you've got it wrong! Jog back slowly after each 120m burst. Next week do 12, then gradually up it to 16, 20 and 24. A few sessions of repetitions should eventually increase your overall cruising speed. I use these to get back on pace after injury or rest periods. In fact, I'll be doing some today on the long side of our local cricket field.
Cheers!

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Give me the hills!

Hill runs seem to have increased my spped (only a little it has to be said), also I find running with a couple of guys who's natural pace is slightly quicker than mine helps as well.

Good luck.

I think speed will naturally increase to some extent as your fitness improves, but for maximal improvements you need speed specific training as mentioned by runningfox

Good luck on the treadmill! You're not aiming for 1hr 30 at 9min/mile are you? :eek:

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www.richardsimkiss.co.uk - 'Stratford Summer Six' Race Report Added

I fi9nd i get faster just by running regularly and often; as you increase your weekly mileage, I think you just get better at it.

Proper speed training like RF's suggestion, or doing a few repeats of, eg, 1/2 mile as fast as poss, then 2 min rest, would maybe help as well

As part of my marathon training I have been doing some speed work, 90secs fast, 90 secs jog x 15 and it went not too badly.

I will let you know how I get on with the treadmill It might remind me how boring running in a gym is and I will just get out and doing some hill work and speed work outside. That reminds me, I should really get over to my local running club and join them

9min / mile pace should bring me in about 2 hours for 1/2 marathon Richard...or is the pace calculator on the forum telling lies to me?

O.

Hi Owain

Good to see that you're going for it! As a matter of interest, what pace do you do your shorter runs at (3 miles for example)?. The reason I ask is because I made the mistake of doing all of my long runs at the same pace as my shorter ones and it lead to a lot of injuries. If I understand the advice I got correctly - you should be doing your long runs at a slower pace than your expected marathon speed and then you can work on your speed in shorter bursts as outlined by Runing Fox.

I was trying to work out how long you were planning on running on the treadmill for... your opening post says... "Tonight I have a 90mins run..." and then you mention running on the treadmill at 9min/mile, I was just wondering if that meant you were planning to run the 90mins at 9min/mi?

How much quicker is this than your current pace? I just think it might be incredibly hard to run for 90mins at your intended race pace whilst training on a dreadmill

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www.richardsimkiss.co.uk - 'Stratford Summer Six' Race Report Added

Ive only really been doing long runs until the last couple of weeks so I have actually been speeding up my short runs since I was coming home and not even being tired. All my running has been aimed for the full marathon next month so Ive been following a training programme which is increasing my mileage week on week.

For the last half marathon I did (which was my first ever 1/2) I had a pace of 9mins 24secs / mile, which I was over the moon about. Much better than I expected!

I would say Im probably doing this or slightly slower, on my longer runs but on shorter runs I have upped this slightly so that I feel tired or at least, I feel like I have done something

Im tempted at entering some 5 and 10k runs just to work on my short distance speeds after the marathon.
It's funny, I havent even done the marathon yet and I'm already looking for a new target or something to train for! Does it ever stop?

O.

Have fun Owain...............................




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Richard,
My plan is to go on to the treadmill and at least see what a 9min / mile pace feels like. I may end up sliding off the back of the treadmill and hitting the wall behind me.

Im going to the the gym with the thought in my head that I can do this, we will see however what the reality is.

O.

lol, having fun and running on a treadmill just don't go well together. I might look at putting a film on my ipod and watch that while Im running.

O.

Ah that's alright then I thought you were going to kill yourself and try to do 90mins at faster than race pace! :eek:

Let us know how you get on O!

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www.richardsimkiss.co.uk - 'Stratford Summer Six' Race Report Added

I will post tonight if I can walk from the gym to the train station and then to my house

O.