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Yet another running question


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Interval training (sprint/jog) helps. My husband just found that running with a guy half his age pacing increased his usual speed. He's trying to break a 10 minute mile. He also just added that running more days consecutively has improved his speed.

 

Maybe one of the running playlists from iTunes or whatever, at a faster tempo?

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Encourage her to run short sprints. If you have a large backyard, set up some "markers" in the yard, and have her run to that and back. If you do not have a large backyard, soccer fields are a great place to run when there are no games, plus the lines make it easy for interval training. (Run, touch the ground, turn around, run back, etc.)

 

When she is walking with you, I would further encourage her to powerwalk in intervals (for 1 min or so) building up and down to the appropriate speed.

 

Anway, just make it fun for her!! :)

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Definitely interval training. This will not only help you speed up, but even better, it increases the calories you're burning!! :)

 

You can find all sorts of interval training programs if you google it. But they all boil down to: warm-up, jog, (run very fast, recover) - repeat the ( ) a few times (gradually increase the repeats), and then cool down.

 

Anne

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About 20 years ago, I was a serious runner.

 

One thing that really helped me to increase my pace was to run hilly cross-country/trail courses regularly. Spring through fall, my running partner and I did most of our workouts on hilly trails.

 

Also, we went through periods of going to the track once a week to run intervals (400m, 800m). My rp could do the intervals at a faster pace than I could, so the competition helped motivate me to increase my speed.

 

These days, I mostly walk. I am working on increasing my pace by picking two landmarks (say, telephone poles or fire hydrants) and doing faster foot turnover with a shorter stride length between those two spots. Or sometimes I jog between the two landmarks. Maybe someday I will be injury-free and able to run again without injuring myself.

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About 20 years ago, I was a serious runner.

 

One thing that really helped me to increase my pace was to run hilly cross-country/trail courses regularly. Spring through fall, my running partner and I did most of our workouts on hilly trails.

 

Also, we went through periods of going to the track once a week to run intervals (400m, 800m). My rp could do the intervals at a faster pace than I could, so the competition helped motivate me to increase my speed.

 

These days, I mostly walk. I am working on increasing my pace by picking two landmarks (say, telephone poles or fire hydrants) and doing faster foot turnover with a shorter stride length between those two spots. Or sometimes I jog between the two landmarks. Maybe someday I will be injury-free and able to run again without injuring myself.

 

The bolded part is the key. Most people use longer stride lengths naturally when trying to get faster but the key is shorter strides, more turnovers.

 

Try this: run for 5-10 minutes at a slow pace. Then run 1 minute fast, but not as fast as you can. Walk a minute. Then run another 1 minute sprint a tad faster than the first. Walk a minute. Do this 4-6 times, walking in between sprints, gradually getting faster and faster with each sprint. Try this once a week; definitely not every.single.run.

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It isn't for dd. I run so slowly that dd doesn't have to run to keep up.

 

I have trouble with speed, too. Endurance is fine, but sometimes I think I could walk just as fast, so I completely get what you are saying. My Dd recently learned to ride her bike w/o training wheels, so she rides while I "run". I've been challenging myself to run short, fast bursts to try to catch her every now and then. If I do, I tag her, and she loves that. She says I now run at her medium biking speed, so I'm getting better.

 

P.s. If I run alone, I really do better with upbeat music on the iPod. Sometimes I forget my iPod, and I almost always struggle with pace then.

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We just got back. Dh said dd had to run with him this time. At 9 minutes they circled back around and "caught" me. Dd sprinted up to me wanting sympathy because she had to run fast with dad.

 

I was like, "You just sprinted. No sympathy from me."

 

I'll try all the suggestions.

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