UKC

In my young running career I have competed in two races 10k and half marathon. I've been training 3 times a week since March. 2 days during the week, these tend to be either Hill reps, tempo or interval runs and a long run at the weekend 12/14 miles within 2 hours gentle pace.
Completed the 10k in 45mins - pleased as it was by first race.
my Half took 1.40 - I finished strongly and on reflection feel i could possibly done the full 26 at the end standard running pace, so possibly paced it incorrectly.
How long should I rest for after the before go back into the training runs?
I’ve been quite badly bitten by the running bug and thinking of booking another half in for the end of July.
I felt like I can go much faster, I need to lose weight; I’m about 8/9kgs above fighting weight. How much of a factor is this? Quite a few bigger folks finished the half in front of me.
Aside from losing a few KG’s what can I do to run at a faster pace for my next half?

In reply to goldmember:

They're decent efforts for your first attempts at races - lots of people would be very happy with a 45 minute 10k and a 1.49 half.

Weight will have a bit of a bearing, and losing 8-9 kg will make life a bit easier and running a bit quicker. Don't be put off by the fact that bigger folk were finishing in front of you - the more you race, the more you'll realise that there are all sorts of shapes and sizes, and a bit of extra weight isn't necessarily an indicator of ability.

To improve, I'd suggest two things. One is to join a running club, if there is one local to you. Running with other people is almost always good for you - you can learn from more experienced runners, and you'll find yourself running faster if you train with other people. Training on your own an be quite lonely and you can end up sticking to a single speed.
The other thing is simply to run more. If you're doing 3 sessions a week, try to increase it to 4 or 5 times a week. It already sounds like you're mixing things up, which is very good. Adding in more miles will generally improve strength and endurance.

As for rest after races - it's all about how you feel. Some people will run the day after a race, just to ease the legs out, some will take a day or two to recover. Depending on how hard you race, you might take the training a bit easier for a few days.

You certainly sound to be in fine shape for another half before the end of July - good luck with it.

In reply to goldmember:


After a race you mean? I would say as soon as you are able, although listen to your body for obvious issues/injuries. I feel worse if I take a few days off - I seize up - so I prefer a really gentle recovery run the next day even after a hard race. Just remember to dial down the intensity, but movement is generally good.


Put a rucksack on with 9kg of rocks in it and go for a run - how does that feel? If you can lose the weight and keep the strength its a no-brainer.


I'd suggest don't worry too much about pace and speedwork right now - you seem to be at the stage where the best benefit will come from just running more - increase the volume. If you try to run too fast you're more prone to injury if you haven't built up the fundamental bio-mechanical changes that take a while to kick in. Can you fit in another run during the week? Upping the volume will lead to natural pace increases anyway - then when you've got a solid base you can work on sharpening it up even more.

If you up the volume, the KGs will just drop off.

I'm glad you're enjoying it - that's the main thing

In reply to goldmember: Well realistically I'd say run a bit more. You're already doing 2 hard sessions a week and a long run. Make one of the hard sessions about 10k in length , be it a pace run at 1/2 mar pace or 8- 10km of intervals at your desired 10k pace, and a similar thing but for 5km. You also have a long run, maybe stretch that to 15.
That's all the hard work. Add a couple of easy 5s, try not to get tired or injured and see how you develop in the next 4 - 6 months.

The kilos are a big issue, but hopefully consistent exercise and a healthy diet will fix that.

Good luck

Thanks for the kind comments
I could reorganise my week as so to get out 4 times. my tempo and intervals are around 4/5 miles
m- easy + strength and stretching
tu-est
wed-hard
th-rest
fr-hard
sat-easy
sun-long

Would this be ok? Ok, i'll not push things on the pace front, getting injuries sounds like a nightmare at the min

In reply to goldmember:

That would have you running 4 days in a row - Friday - Monday. That's more than I would do, but less than others would do. Try it and see how it goes, and if it hurts too much, change it.
Intervals can be quite short. Think less in terms of total distance and more in terms of effort - sets of 800m reps, for example. Have a look online and you'll find options. Don't make the classic mistake of trying to blitz your reps - the aim is a faster, but steady pace - you should be aiming to do the first at the same speed as your last.

In reply to goldmember:

My opinion is that you shouldn't need to rest after a race. For long distance running you should be doing enough distance in training that the actual race doesn't come as a shock to your body, you may want to ease off the next day but certainly not rest.

Don't be tempted to train too hard, that's the route to a broken body in one way or another (we've all been there, done that), better to put lots of miles in at an easy pace and give your body time to adapt gradually. It will get the idea and you'll find that almost without effort you get faster anyway. 100km a week of training is knocking spots off my 5km parkrun time and I don't even bother to try to get a good time anymore, it just happens.
Not only that but running costs about 600 kcal per 10km, you'll find you naturally tend to lose weight which all helps with getting faster. Win-Win.

Another race at the end of July? Whyever not, go for it.