Anonymous wrote:

Your height also isn’t an issue. I know a lot of insanely fast women who are shorter than you.

5'2" is an excellent height for distance running. Being tall is a disadvantage, and there are many world class female marathoners who are under 5 feet.

Op - I would connect with a running training group. Potomac River Running might be a good one to try.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You’re focusing too much on the heart rate. I’m about the same height and weight as you and at my fastest could run a 5k at about a 7mm pace. What got me faster was training with people who were faster than me and doing speed work on a treadmill. And also just doing probably way more mileage than you’re doing. How old are you?

I am focusing on effort/zone training. Why is that wrong?

I do a lot of speed work - one of my runs a week is speed intervals, usually on the treadmill. I have Peloton and they will say "go to your 6-9 MPH!" and I'm at 5 mph. I was hoping that training for a 10k (increasing endurance) would make my 5k faster. I did not necessarily get 2 minutes off my speed in 6 months if my PR was 4 minutes faster last year.

I am 37. -op

m

Effort/zone training is fine, but heart rate zones are notoriously inaccurate.

I also think trying to artificially change your stride isn’t that helpful. The speed intervals are what will make you faster, in addition to a good aerobic base and weekly longer run. But you should not even bother looking at heart rate during speed intervals. Just focus on exertion level — hard but not all out since you need to be able to do repeats.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You’re focusing too much on the heart rate. I’m about the same height and weight as you and at my fastest could run a 5k at about a 7mm pace. What got me faster was training with people who were faster than me and doing speed work on a treadmill. And also just doing probably way more mileage than you’re doing. How old are you?

I am focusing on effort/zone training. Why is that wrong?

I do a lot of speed work - one of my runs a week is speed intervals, usually on the treadmill. I have Peloton and they will say "go to your 6-9 MPH!" and I'm at 5 mph. I was hoping that training for a 10k (increasing endurance) would make my 5k faster. I did not necessarily get 2 minutes off my speed in 6 months if my PR was 4 minutes faster last year.

I am 37. -op

OK, I commented earlier, and I'm in the camp that thinks you're doing fine. But now that I read your update, I think you might be mushing together a few different philosophies and overcomplicating things.

Unless you have a heart issue, I'd ditch your heart rate monitor. Keep it simple. Learn to run by feel. I agree with PP: speed work ONE DAY a week, but a little faster than you think you can go.

10Ks are great -- a wonderful goal -- but if you're a semi-beginner, what you probably did was teach yourself how to run a long, slow distance run.

Wow you are so slow

When you say you’re doing tempo, long runs, speed work, what exactly are you doing? How long, how fast on tempo?

You're doing a lot of things right. Some questions:

What does your tempo run look iike? (pace and distance)

How many days a week do you run?

Assuming you're running three or four days a week, I would make only one day a speed day. But make it real speed -- probably a good bit faster than whatever you're doing for tempo.

A couple of ways to ease into speed:

1.) Fartlek running. Go out for an ordinary 3-4 mile run. After warming up for a mile, start picking milestones to sprint to -- a park bench, a mailbox, etc. Jog to cool down. Sprinkle these into your route. It will start getting your body used to running at a quicker pace.

2.) Quarter-mile repeats. A track or treadmill are good for these, but a merked trail is fine, too. Warm up for a mile. Do a quarter mile at a pace that feels pretty hard. Jog for a quarter mile. Repeat, repeat, repeat. You could start with 4 and work up to 8.

3.) Ladders: After a warm up, run a quick quarter mile. Cool down. Quick half mile. Cool down. Quick 3/4 mile. Cool down. Quick mile. Cool down. Quick is relative to you -- you can look up suggested paces, or do it by perceived effort.

Anonymous wrote:You’re focusing too much on the heart rate. I’m about the same height and weight as you and at my fastest could run a 5k at about a 7mm pace. What got me faster was training with people who were faster than me and doing speed work on a treadmill. And also just doing probably way more mileage than you’re doing. How old are you?

I am focusing on effort/zone training. Why is that wrong?

I do a lot of speed work - one of my runs a week is speed intervals, usually on the treadmill. I have Peloton and they will say "go to your 6-9 MPH!" and I'm at 5 mph. I was hoping that training for a 10k (increasing endurance) would make my 5k faster. I did not necessarily get 2 minutes off my speed in 6 months if my PR was 4 minutes faster last year.

I am 37. -op

You’re focusing too much on the heart rate. I’m about the same height and weight as you and at my fastest could run a 5k at about a 7mm pace. What got me faster was training with people who were faster than me and doing speed work on a treadmill. And also just doing probably way more mileage than you’re doing. How old are you?