Steady running advice needed!

[MisterJawaid]

So today I did some reading. I’ve been getting out a couple of times a week doing 5 or 7k sometimes on the flat, sometimes half road, then half flat (I live next to the Leeds Liverpool Canal). I have come to the conclusion that I am not improving because I am too focused on speed rather than building stamina. Having read that I needed to slow down a bit and aim for a pace between 6:40 and 7:30 per km I set off to do my regular 7k. I averaged 6:45 and have to say it felt great at the end. Can anyone out there fill me in on how much of this steady running I should do, and how often I should be making an effort? Any advice would be welcome. Cheers ChrisJ

[Sandraj39 Graduate10]

Slowing down can be hard but those that do it properly swear by the results.

This video from the the team at Coach Parry explains the value of and science behind, those slower runs as well as other things that may help your running. I love their videos. Hope it helps!

I probably don’t yet run my slower runs quite slow enough (tbh my fast feels pretty slow, some days!😂) but I definitely find it helps in building endurance and also my recovery is much better.🙂

youtu.be/qnRw0bgEZ3Q(Not working as expected?)

[MisterJawaid in reply to Sandraj39]

thank you for this, I’ll give the video a watch on the way home tonight!

[GTFC Graduate10]

I'm a real advocate of steady running. As you go you will find you're running steady and feeling well. This is so important for building an aerobic engine. There's lots of info on Google or You Tube (running slow to run fast or 80/20 running etc) around steady running at a conversational pace.

I do feel that the most overlooked part is consistency. If you're out there week in and week out then it will all come together. I also advocate a shorter, faster run each week or two (depending on experience etc) to keep things mixed up.

Over time you should hopefully see yourself going further without being too tired. If you stick with it you'll be really pleased. I do feel there's a danger of going too slow which makes you feel unnatural too. Find your unique pace by feel to begin with and have fun experimenting 😊

[Hidden in reply to GTFC]

this is really helpful, thanks. I am at consolidation stage at the moment since graduating from c25k and felt I was running too slow to make sure I comfortably finish runs. I have managed to upp my pace and feel good for it. It is trying to find a balance. I have also started pacing myself for the first 4k of each run, then going faster for the last 5k, so a bit like interval training, and hoping this helps build my stamina too. I just sometimes wonder what good I’m doing - although have shaved minutes off my 5k this month - I am out every 2nd day hoping to keep building on it.

I’m also looking into a garmin forerunner as I think the pacepro facility could be a game changer.

[GTFC Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

The Garmin 45 or 55 is ace if that's in your budget. I like you can run and have a strong finish too 😀 Keep with the steady runs too. If you finish and think you could have gone further then it's a great sign. To avoid potential injury, keep steady and build that aerobic engine. You're doing so well.

[Hidden in reply to GTFC]

I really like the venu 2s as it has a small screen - I have very small wrists. But it doesn’t have pacepro so trying to hold out for the venu3 getting released at some point in the hope it is added. Otherwise will need to look at the smallest forerunner! Thanks for the advice!

[nowster Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

The FR 45 has a small variant: 45S.

Tip: if you can wait for Black Friday weekend, there are usually heavy discounts on the previous years' models.

The ForeRunner series is better if your main activity is going to be running. The Venu is more of a general fitness watch.

[Hidden in reply to nowster]

I did read about the unlikely hood of the venu range ever having the running features

The 45s is the perfect size, but doesn’t have pacepro

[nowster Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

My watch does have PacePro but I've never used it!

[Cmoi Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

I had to look up what pacepro is, and now that I have, I know I don't want it! Tbh I think you're better off learning to pace yourself by perceived effort and not just by numbers.

Good advice from GTFC - it's staying at a comfortable pace and building up to longer runs, plus a bit of variety, that will help your stamina. Also, if you're a recent C25K graduate and currently consolidating, it's not really advisable to be going out every second day trying to improve. You've got plenty of future runs when you can do that - happy running!

[MisterJawaid in reply to GTFC]

I think it is probably the consistency that I lack and will try to be a bit more rigorous over the next few months. I certainly wasn't tired at 7k, and have run up to 10k in the past - I'll try to post an update later in the year. Thank you for your input.

[nowster Graduate10]

If you can afford the time, definitely expand the distance/time you're running. I noticed some interesting metabolic changes happened when I was running regularly (weekly) for 90 minutes or more. Without chasing it, my shorter distance runs gradually got faster.

My suggestion would be three times a week with some combination of two shorter runs and one long one. For example:

* a short, slightly faster run of about 2-3km

* a medium length slower run 5-8km

* an intervals run (eg. walk/run, jog/sprint) of at most 5km

The weekend run should be gradually extending your range at a slower pace. As you're doing 7km at the moment, perhaps aim to achieve 15km by the end of the year (about 12 weeks).

Making sure you get a run in regularly is important for progressing, but don't beat yourself up if circumstances prevent you from doing it.

[MisterJawaid in reply to nowster]

Thank you for this. I was running better/ more regularly 12 months ago. As you say, I need to try to be more consistent, and have adopted a mindset of day on day off which I hope to keep up till Christmas. The science behind the slower runs is now a lot clearer, and I will try to follow your advice and build up to twice the distance I currently run. I'll try to post an update to detail any progress later in the year.

[mrrun Graduate10]

You cannot do longer running or faster running without ‘slower running’. Top guys, world records marathon runners, spend up to 80% of their training running slow. I write blogs about running, try this one (hope it helps 👍)

runmrrun.com/how-i-built-my...