Why don't I get any faster?

January 2008

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Location:

NY,

Member Since:

Aug 03, 2008

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Age Division Winner

Running Accomplishments:

I have only run about 6-7 5Ks and 2 5-milers. My fastest (although not very fast) 5K is 27:57. My goal was under 28:00 so I was pretty happy with that. I came in third in my age group (25-29 female) and of course they only gave awards to the top 3 overall male and female winners. I just want a stinking ribbon already!!!

Short-Term Running Goals:

I would love to run a 5K at an 8 minute mile pace (the whole time, not just the 1st mile). I would also like to be able to run a 7 minute mile. My fastest now is 7:58 and I feel like I am going to have a heart attack.

Long-Term Running Goals:

They have a 12 mile cross country race in my town that I would like to do. It's through creeks and over trees and looks pretty grueling.

Personal:

I am 26 years old and am a full time accounting student while working full time, so fitting running in can be difficult.

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Miles:	This week:	0.00	Month:	0.00	Year:	0.00

Totals

Slow miles	Fast miles	Total Distance
19.62	1.00	20.62

Sun, Aug 03, 2008

Slow miles	Fast miles	Total Distance
0.00	1.00	1.00

Fastest mile ever today in 7:58 (I know some of you are laughing), but that is fast for me!!! I thought I was going to have a heart attack!

Comments

From Sasha Pachev on Tue, Aug 05, 2008 at 17:09:05

7:58 is a good start. No laughing.

You can improve your mile time by a smaller margin, and your 5 K time by a bigger margin if you made some changes in your training. Start running 6 days a week 4 miles a day at about 11:00 pace or whatever feels very comfortable. The pace must be such that you have no difficulty maintaining an elaborate conversation.

Get used to that, then increase it to 5 miles. Keep increasing as your fitness improves until you hit a hard limit of some kind - e.g. you are out of time you are willing/able to dedicate to running. Do not force the pace. Let it increase naturally as your fitness improves. Race frequently. If no races are available, do 5 K time trials once every two weeks.

Consistency is critical. Do not skip runs for any reason other than injury, severe sickness, or something extreme like a tornado. Refer to the Top Ten Excuses for Missing a Run at the link above for suggestions on how to fit in a run when you think there is absolutely no time for it.

From Kim on Tue, Aug 05, 2008 at 18:12:23

You are already beyond what I was when I started running and blogging last October. I have seen great improvement in my running from following Sasha's advise! Good luck to you. Keep blogging and run like Sasha says and you WILL see improvement!

From AmyLou on Wed, Aug 06, 2008 at 15:22:57

Hey, your already alot faster than me. I run at about a 13 min mile. I know snails pace, but we all have to start somewhere, so just keep going, and you'll be great!

From Tyler on Thu, Aug 07, 2008 at 01:04:56

Thanks to all who have welcomed me! Since I am new to this I am still trying to maneuver around the site. I am not sure how to directly respond to an individual who wrote to me so this is kind of a test as well.

From Tyler on Thu, Aug 07, 2008 at 01:13:21

I am still trying to figure this out - can someone tell me if they are getting this response?

I don't want people to think I am ignoring their comments.

Thanks!

From Jon on Thu, Aug 07, 2008 at 08:54:05

Yes, we see the comment. But when you comment, it defaults to Tyler. You need to put in your blog web address (farmgirlty) in the second box, too, so they know it is you.

Mon, Aug 04, 2008

Slow miles	Fast miles	Total Distance
3.10	0.00	3.10

5K today in 32:00. Pretty crappy but it was rough terrain (boyfriend's motorcross track), so I did some walking between miles. Mosquitos were horrible too!!!

Comments

From Walter on Tue, Aug 05, 2008 at 17:49:42

Thats good the way you set your goals and achieve them. keep up the good work and youll be looking back and seeing how you have been smashing those goals

Wed, Aug 06, 2008

Slow miles	Fast miles	Total Distance
2.00	0.00	2.00

Trying to take Sasha's advice and run a steady, comfortable 4 miles per day, 6 days per week. That's a lot of miles (for me). I only had time for 2 today - had a statistics test to study for and unfortunately, school has to come first. Anyways, I was suprised that my "comfortable" pace was a 9:10 mile. A couple years ago that would have been a very fast mile for me. Don't get me wrong, it's still no walk in the park but I really felt like I was going a lot slower than 9:10 miles. It's reassuring to know that I have made some improvement in my running - I was really beginning to feel like I hadn't improved at all since I started running about 2.5 years ago. I guess it's just a slow process.

Thanks for all who have welcomed me!

Comments

From marion on Thu, Aug 07, 2008 at 18:40:47

Great job! Welcome to the blog! We gotta do what we can!!! :D

From mattrow on Fri, Aug 08, 2008 at 09:27:05

Welcome to the blog. All I can say is keep running fun. What part of NY are you from? I have spent some time in Up-State NY.

From Tyler on Fri, Aug 08, 2008 at 09:30:05

I am from Rochester, NY. Where were you when you were here?

From mattrow on Fri, Aug 08, 2008 at 09:40:41

I spent some time in Rome, Syracuse, and Albany, Binghamton, I loved the area and would like to go back.

From Sasha Pachev on Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 21:24:52 from 64.81.245.109

Good work. If 9:10 is hard 10:00 is OK. Good training effect can be achieved without running yourself into the ground.

Thu, Aug 07, 2008

Slow miles	Fast miles	Total Distance
2.00	0.00	2.00

Sat, Aug 09, 2008

Slow miles	Fast miles	Total Distance
8.12	0.00	8.12

Mon, Aug 11, 2008

Slow miles	Fast miles	Total Distance
4.40	0.00	4.40

Totals

Slow miles	Fast miles	Total Distance
19.62	1.00	20.62

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