Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is 11:20 on the slower end? I seriously hate people like you. Should I apologize for my 12 minute miles? NO, because it's still better than most people, and the only one I'm competing with is myself. I refuse to offer advice to you.

You don’t need to apologize, but 12 min/mile IS very slow if you are running a road race. I ran 10:50m/mile in this year’s Cherry Blossom 10 miler and I was in the bottom 25% of all finishers.

That may be true for that specific race but a 12 minute mile for a mid 40s woman is just about average. 11:20 is faster than average. Nationwide, 10000 runners. https://www.healthline.com/health/average-mile-time#by-age

That doesn't mean that OP shouldn't try to get faster! Kudos to her! Also the first PP in this thread's comment is way over the top. But let's not spread false information and make people feel bad for no reason.

OP, i posted above about being sore after running, but i'm in a similar situation and could have posted your message.

I do most of my running on a Peloton tread, and i do HIIT a good bit because to me it's less boring. I do get sore after HIIT. Really stretching to run fast/sprint is tough, but i do think it helps improve strength and speed.

On the tread, i set small goals. If i'm running at 6 mph, i'll set a target of running 7 mph for 10 minutes without stopping. Or if i'm doing a 20 minute run, i'll try to get my average speed to tick up to a new record (6.4mph to 6.5mph), etc.

I do tend to run/walk, less now than when i started of course, but if i'm trying to do a 7 mph 20 minute run, i will often run for 10, walk for 1, then try to run the rest of the way. I try to close those gaps and to me that's progress and it increases average speed. Probably a little different if you are not used to varying your speed at all, just set an MPH and go for your full workout.

Anonymous wrote:How is 11:20 on the slower end? I seriously hate people like you. Should I apologize for my 12 minute miles? NO, because it's still better than most people, and the only one I'm competing with is myself. I refuse to offer advice to you.

You don’t need to apologize, but 12 min/mile IS very slow if you are running a road race. I ran 10:50m/mile in this year’s Cherry Blossom 10 miler and I was in the bottom 25% of all finishers.

You have to run faster. 80% of your miles should be slow. 20% of your miles should be something like tempo or fartlek.

If you don’t feel like downloading a program, find a place that has a 100-200M stretch. At the end of an easy run 2x a week, run that stretch as fast as you can and jog back to the start a few times. Work up to 6-10 repeats of that. You can’t run faster if your body doesn’t even know what fast feels like.

Another way to improve is to listen to more upbeat music or run with a friend who is a bit faster than you once a week.

You won’t get faster staying in your comfort zone. It’s going take take pushing yourself occasionally.

Anonymous wrote:How is 11:20 on the slower end? I seriously hate people like you. Should I apologize for my 12 minute miles? NO, because it's still better than most people, and the only one I'm competing with is myself. I refuse to offer advice to you.

So anyone faster than you isn't allowed to ask for advice? This is a really shitty reply. Normally, I'd say good job for getting out there and running, but not if you're going to take this approach. You're slow and you certainly have room to improve. Kudos to OP for doing what you refuse to do.

Anonymous wrote:How is 11:20 on the slower end? I seriously hate people like you. Should I apologize for my 12 minute miles? NO, because it's still better than most people, and the only one I'm competing with is myself. I refuse to offer advice to you.

It IS on the slower end. Deal with it.
No one asked you to apologize.
If you’re only competing with yourself why do you care what anyone says?

Op I say sprints at a track. Walk one lap, sprint 1/4, walk another lap, sprint again, etc. That’s what helped me.