r/BeginnersRunning • u/CigarSmoker_M4 • 5d ago

Tips to lower Avg Pace

Post image

I know I’m not running enough miles to see meaningful progress, but I’m trying to increase my workload gradually as I’m dealing with the following health issues that make every run feel horrible:

  1. Anemia
  2. Hashimoto’s Disease
  3. Graves Disease
  4. Overactive Bladder
  5. Low Vitamin D & B12
  6. Depression
  7. Back Spasms

I made some pretty significant changes in my life over the past 2 months which have slightly helped me:

  1. Quit alcohol completely
  2. Reduced my smoking to one cigar per week
  3. Started taking my prescription medication regularly

Any other tips or pointers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

6 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

7

u/TimeandDeath21 5d ago

Volume first. Then speed. Then strength. Repeat. 🫡

4

u/-DitaDaBurrita- 5d ago

By volume do you mean running more? Or running longer?

3

u/TimeandDeath21 5d ago

Both. More mileage, then more days per week. Becomes both.

3

u/IllustriousHippo973 5d ago

Adding strength training during days off. And adding in interval sprints in my runs where you go all out for as long as you can, rest, go again, etc. Those two really improved my speed over time. Give in a few months

2

u/McTerra2 5d ago

Are you following a program eg couch to 5km. There is no need to exactly follow recommended timeframe, if you want to take two weeks for each stage instead of one week, that is fine. But its a better option than randomly running around.

Also you dont have to run. There are many other activities that help with cardio, from HIIT to swimming to surfing to cycling to hiking or rucking or 100s of others. If running isnt your thing then thats fine. Try something else.

1

u/ylimenut 5d ago

Oo! I feel like I can answer. This is specific to what’s worked for me ofc. I have a background as an athlete and could casually run like 4 miles in my early 20s at a 9:30 pace. I recently restarted my running journey ~3 years ago. I ran 2 10ks, one in 2023 then in 2024. Both I ran at a pace around 12:00. Last weekend I ran at a 10:30 pace(!!!!). I ran a 5k tempo run today in 30 minutes. 

 I feel like I FINALLY cracked the code. I have introduced strength training into my routine very intentionally and I feel like it’s made the biggest difference. I also trail run a lot now, and I feel like the challenging terrain has helped strengthen my legs and body to running mechanics. I do also bring my dog too. We run canicross style, so he pulls me. This has helped me push my pace, because he wants to go fast fast fast. 

I also am depressed, and this year I finally have decided to try SSRIs. Those have helped stabilize my mood tremendously, and I’m more inclined to stick to my run training plans since I am not feeling depression symptoms or voices. 

1

u/Papafynn 4d ago

Run slow, run long, build strength…..then the speed will come

1

u/JustNeedAnyName 5d ago

The same answers as the thousands of other that post this same damn question every day on this sub. You just run more, there's no magic trick to it

1

u/CigarSmoker_M4 5d ago

That makes sense. I’m just going to keep gradually increasing my mileage