Time 31.02 - a new PB but I just can't quite get under 30 mins still.. thought I'd have cracked it by now. Today I felt awful.. nothing worse than needing the toilet after about half a mile in - I thought I was going to be sick too. Wanted to stop and walk. Was going to try again tomorrow but weather forecast isn't good..
I hope everyone has a lovely evening whatever they're doing and a happy and peaceful New Year x
In my experience it can take a while to reach the illusive 30 minutes. It took me 8 months to go under 30 minutes. My first Parkrun in Easter was 33:33. I am comfortably running between 30-31 minutes most weeks. Pacing events at Parkrun are great for bringing times down.
31:02 is very respectable 😀
I was reading an article a few weeks ago about HIT (High Intensity Training) can help you get faster.
Here's a couple of links, one is the HIT & the other a few other variations:
Happy New Year, rammsteinqueen.
I'm sorry to hear that the run may not have gone as well as you'd hoped, but through remaining consistent in your approach towards training, rest assured, you'll get there.
I'm not sure whether you already incorporate it in training, but attempting to include negative splits may be of use. For example, run the first half a little slower than usual, leaving more energy to increase the pace a little over that which you'd normally run, meaning that the second half is completed a little quicker.
Negative splits should also assist with pacing in the early stages of Park Runs, by ensuring that too much energy isn't expended.
Most importantly, though, don't attempt every training run at race pace, either, since the majority of training runs do need to be performed slower than race pace, allowing the distance you're able to run to increase. By ensuring that 4 miles can be covered, for example, covering 5K will feel easier.
However, since you now possess an improving stamina base (even though it may not feel like it), begin to consider exercising the body's anaerobic system, through HIIT sprints.
After a decent warm up, seek to run as fast as you're able for a period of 20-30 seconds, followed by 60 seconds of walking to recover. Repeat the process for up to 20-25 minutes (but no longer) or for as long as you're initially able. As the body's ability to sustain anaerobic activity improves, so to will the length of time that it can be performed.
One of the many advantages of exercising the anaerobic pathway is that it encourages increased tolerance of blood lactate, which can prove particularly useful in latter stages of both training runs and races, since the body becomes less reliant upon oxygen and is better able to utilise lactic acid as an energy source, thus, allowing increasing fatigue to be handled more efficiently. Lactic acid certainly isn't the waste product that it was once purported to be.
However, since your ultimate goal is to increase distance, only seek to perform it once a week, since the activity will require 48 hours recovery afterwards. Moreover, since HIIT takes very little time to execute, it may be worth adding it as an extra session to your current training plan.
Despite your despondency, don't give up.
Brilliant, thank you for this 
and happy new year too 
You're welcome. Give the HIIT a try, as it should begin to make a difference to your normal running.
I will do it, thank you 
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