A little bit faster

[Cairokitten]

Today I did 10 mins at 6km/hr, then 10 mins at 5.8 then 12 mins at 5.6. Considering that I started my Week 7/25 minute runs at mainly 5.0 and struggled to get to 5.4, this is good! Still have a long way to go ... but that's going to be the fun part, just getting a little bit better each time. Have been looking at Tabata bike intervals as something I could do in between runs, anyone ever tried this? Seems like it could improve fitness and positively impact on the running.

[Spongecake7 Graduate]

Hi Cairokitten how are you?have you had your op yet?

[Cairokitten Graduate in reply to Spongecake7]

I'm good thanks, next Friday, all being well :/

[Ullyrunner Graduate]

Sounds like it's going well - where is your graduate badge Cairokitten - you've earned it!

[Ullyrunner Graduate in reply to Ullyrunner]

Ah how weird - it's appeared now! Going to be one of those strange days on the site...

[Squarewheels66 Graduate]

What you have posted is quite a reasonable gain and the idea of getting a little better at a time is the right approach. These are my thoughts (combination of biology lesson and experience/common sense).

Your potential for improvement depends on your basic biology and exercise history. Unless have good genetics and haven't exploited your potential, rapid gains from upping intensity are unlikely. True Tabata is very intense. Andrew Marr had a stroke doing HIIT on a rowing machine - I would respectfully suggest that at the running pace you are posting here you might not be sufficiently conditioned to do true HIIT sessions.

I tend to mix up running, swimming, cycling, strength training etc and find that whilst mixing it up is great for keeping interest going and avoiding injury etc., my body will only stand pushing the limit in one area (eg. weight lifted, time/distance, speed/intensity) and I need to give time to recover. This boils down (at my age) to only pushing it once a week. If I want to make progress in one area I have to back off what I'm doing in other areas. If you really push it in the bike sessions you might find yourself using runs as recovery and running more slowly.

I'd be inclined to start with a goal (a local race or a specific distance or time). Getting faster is not a goal - it's the effect of training for a more specific goal. Work backwards from your goal and stick to the principles that have served you well so far.

If you haven't been using a heart rate monitor then I'd be inclined to get one and some advice on how to use it (internet, book or join a club). If you find you're already running at 80% or 90% HRmax then you might need to reduce the intensity rather than increase it.

All the best

[LonelyWalker Graduate]

Blimey, that sounds like scary runs to me! I'm happy just to extend my running time to cover more distance and build stamina for now. I don't want to sprint before I can run, if you see what I mean!