Shoul I be increasing my speed?

[Runvicarrun]

I am on week 7. Yesterday I finished tired but not exhausted. I have increased my speed from about 9 1/2 minutes per Km to 8 1/2 minutes. At what point should I push myself to speed up more? I am worried that if I start speeding up I won't complete the run although I do feel I could push myself more. Should I wait till graduation to speed up or do it now?

[crox Graduate]

Play it by ear, you know yourself best. Don't try to speed up too much too soon. You'll find when you start doing a longer run once a week you'll have more energy for running faster on the shorter runs, then you'll run a little faster on the longer runs and that'll make you faster still on the shorter runs...

[DeepnGreen]

Listen to Laura! It's not about speed, it's about time, distance and stamina. She promises that she will have you running 5k in 30 minutes non-stop by the end of week 9 and she will. At the end of week 9 there are some extra runs to improve speed and stamina. Worry about your speed when you get there.

[Realfoodieclub Graduate]

I personally would wait. I tried to speed up and had to repeat a few weeks. I tired myself out for one and secondly because I was under so much pressure I completely lost my form and breathing techniques. There will always be time after graduation. I am finding it a good thing as it keeps me focused on the next goal after graduation.

[Runvicarrun]

Thanks everyone will stick to my current speed.

[KTBinkles Graduate]

If you're feeling you could push more you could try very slightly lengthening your stride but sticking to the same cadence or striding out and picking up the pace for the last minute or two, but don't risk losing your form.

[Spiritualencounter Graduate]

Im on week 7 run 3 and managed 2.5k in 25 mins.. I am just going to build stamina to run for 30 mins then worry about speed... It doesn feek pretty slow but i would rather go slowly than risk injury x

[xeompho]

I'm on W7R2, and only check my distance on the treadmill at the end - but last night it was 3.2 km for the whole 35 mins. So - basically everyone on here complaining about their speed is faster than me! I do notice that other ladies at the gym get on the treadmills, sprint like mad for 5 mins then get off, all the while I'm just plodding along slowly doing my thing. Sometimes I think about speeding up - and have sped up a bit at the end of the last couple of runs, but to be honest it's still such a big deal for me to even finish a run that i know realistically I'm not ready to speed up yet. I'll do some of the speed ones after I graduate.