How long does it take to see benefits from speedwork?

[zoidberg]

(Running)

If I concentrate on speed workouts for, say, 6 weeks, would you expect me to see some improvement?

[taratru]

yes. Benefits all around - improved race times, weight loss, strength. Just be consistent.

[zoidberg]

Ok. Because everyone who told me that I would get faster as I increased distance/volume was a dirty, dirty liar!

I would really like to get even a little bit faster.

[taratru]

Well, it depends. If you want to get faster at a 5k, then I'm not sure increased distance will help you as much as increased speedwork will, once you have a good base.

I am always faster when I have a higher base mileage. But I'm *extra* fast at shorter distances when I add speedwork to that. Does that make sense?

[zoidberg]

Yep.

Part of my problem is that I had a hard time adjusting when we moved from basically sea level to 5300 feet last summer. I was never FAST, but I was a solid 45 secs/mile faster than I am now. I really struggled to build up to running again when we first moved here and I just have never recovered that speed that I lost.

I would at least like to get back to my flat lander glory days.

[clseale]

Lol! When you increased distance/volume, you didn't get faster at the lower miles? Ex: Do you not run 3 miles faster now, than you did when 3 miles was the farthest you could run? You have to push yourself a little bit, but over time, I think volume does work. It's not speed work though. Ditto Tara. If you stay consistent, I think you can see some results after 6 weeks. I'd mix it up too. Vary the types of speed work.

[zoidberg]

Honestly, no. I mean I did the first time. When I first started running I improved quite a bit as I increased my running, but not since we moved. I got to a certain point and just stuck there this time.

[zoidberg]

For reference, my first 5k ever was in early November 2011 and my pace was 11:45. A few weeks later I did a 5-miler Turkey Trot and my pace was 10:47. That was the pace I kept as my average until we moved in mid-2012.

Now it is a red-letter freaking day if I can get a few miles at 11:30. I'm not sure I have even cracked that pace since last summer.

[joenali]

Mar 18, 2013 22:43:29 GMT -5 zoidberg said:

For reference, my first 5k ever was in early November 2011 and my pace was 11:45. A few weeks later I did a 5-miler Turkey Trot and my pace was 10:47. That was the pace I kept as my average until we moved in mid-2012.

Now it is a red-letter freaking day if I can get a few miles at 11:30. I'm not sure I have even cracked that pace since last summer.

Maybe stop focusing on pace for awhile and focus on feel or heart rate. Maybe that will help a little as well. Go for minutes running rather than pace or distance.

[kams]

Do you ever use a treadmill?

This may not be true for everyone, but I had a similar "block" for awhile where I couldn't run faster outside. When I started doing speedwork on the treadmill, where I couldn't hide from the belt moving faster, i was better able to feel the faster turnover. Then, it was much easier to translate that to the road. Increased mileage was a huge contributor for me as well.

IDK if that makes sense, and it may not be feasible/effective for you, but maybe it's worth a shot.

[zoidberg]

We don't have one, but I can use one at the badass Johnson center (lol). I can give that a shot, because I am getting pretty frustrated with this.

If this attempt at speedwork fails, I think I am just going to stop paying attention to it.

[kams]

I ran my fastest 100m dash on Johnson field. I was hammered.

It was probably not fast, or straight.

Nothing wrong with putting speed on the back burner. Sometimes it's nice to just run because you like to run!


ETA: The most flameful thing about that confession is that I wasn't even in college anymore...

[Wines Not Whines]

Speed work definitely works. I think you will see some improvements in 6 weeks. Don't overdo it though. Once a week is plenty. If you do too much, you risk getting injured.

I agree with Kams about the TM. I usually hate the TM, but it can be helpful when doing intervals.

[spunkypenguin]

Mar 19, 2013 4:38:54 GMT -5 Wines Not Whines said:

Speed work definitely works. I think you will see some improvements in 6 weeks. Don't overdo it though. Once a week is plenty. If you do too much, you risk getting injured.

I agree with Kams about the TM. I usually hate the TM, but it can be helpful when doing intervals.

I agree that TM intervals help.  

I have found that racing (or even just running with faster runners) has helped also.  I ran a Winter 5K series (5k every other weekend) from Dec. 1 - March 9 and saw some speed gains.  I was also increasing distance during that time, but I shaved at least :30 off my average pace.

[clseale]

Mar 18, 2013 23:03:58 GMT -5 kams said:

I ran my fastest 100m dash on Johnson field. I was hammered.

I HATE treadmills, but I love 1 minute treadmill intervals. I definitely saw an improvement when I was doing those.

kams. I just choked on my coffee. lol Thanks.

[enfuego23]

Mar 18, 2013 22:57:45 GMT -5 kams said:

Do you ever use a treadmill?

This may not be true for everyone, but I had a similar "block" for awhile where I couldn't run faster outside. When I started doing speedwork on the treadmill, where I couldn't hide from the belt moving faster, i was better able to feel the faster turnover. Then, it was much easier to translate that to the road. Increased mileage was a huge contributor for me as well.

IDK if that makes sense, and it may not be feasible/effective for you, but maybe it's worth a shot.

This is true for me as well. I'm not good pushing myself outside to run super fast so I let the TM guide me when I do speed work .Right now I do 400's at 5K pace one week and then a tempo run the next week. I vary the times of my tempo runs and I keep adding 400's to each speed session. 

[gt7301b]

How many miles are you running a week and have you raced recently?

I can only push myself so hard in a workout if my only goal is just to get faster. I need more tangible goals like run a 5k in under 25 minutes by June.

I'd work on basic speed in you situation. It can be as simple as picking up the pace for 100 meters during a long run or doing 200's or 400's on the track.

[ebeth]

how many miles did you increase from/to? over what sort of time frame?

also, you moved to altitude. . . .it takes time to acclimate to that business. go race at sea level before you start proclaiming that increased mileage doesn't work.

[zoidberg]

Mar 19, 2013 11:32:53 GMT -5 ebeth said:

how many miles did you increase from/to? over what sort of time frame?

also, you moved to altitude. . . .it takes time to acclimate to that business. go race at sea level before you start proclaiming that increased mileage doesn't work.

Since the move (9 months?) I have gone from not being able to run a mile to doing 10 miles. I guess I have gotten faster in the respect that I can now actually run rather than staggering and gasping. ETA: I mean, I could run a sea level and then it took time for me to work back up to even minimal running once I moved here. I will also cop to slacking a bit in the months before the move because of the whole dissertation business, which took some time.

I have done one race at sea level since last year, a 15k. My pace was pretty much the same as it is here. My lungs were feeling great the whole time, but my legs just didn't want to go any faster. I think it was because that is how I had trained. Also, I came down with the flu the next day, so perhaps I was already getting fatigued from that.

I'm just feeling very frustrated that I feel like I am putting in the same amount of effort that I was before, but with worse results. We'll see how some interval runs great me.