All I have heard recently is that slow running makes slow runners, it lowers testosterone, etc. Are there any benefits to doing slow, 4-6 mile easy runs or should I focus more energy on doing 2+ speed workouts per week? Right now I am a very slow (beginner) runner with a 23:00 5k and ~6:30 mile. This is my first season of track and I want to lower my 800 and 1600 times as much as possible. Any other advice?
Speed workouts will make you fast quickly, true. But they work even better if you already have basic stamina, because you can recover from them quicker, hold form better, use oxygen more efficiently, etc etc. If you are planning on running track in 2 or 3 weeks, there isn't much you can do about it now. But even 3 miles a day every day until the season starts will help you tremendously. Don't force things or push it too much. Good luck.
Simmons222 wrote:
All I have heard recently is that slow running makes slow runners, it lowers testosterone, etc. Are there any benefits to doing slow, 4-6 mile easy runs or should I focus more energy on doing 2+ speed workouts per week? Right now I am a very slow (beginner) runner with a 23:00 5k and ~6:30 mile. This is my first season of track and I want to lower my 800 and 1600 times as much as possible. Any other advice?
The last two weeks before the big end meets yes I'd say going out and running 4-6 miles slow would be somewhat useless but right now in january and with your times ( no offense but you don't have any aerobic base) you should just be focused on increasing the amount of overall running you do to gain some strength then speed training will start to help you lower your mile/800 times
I did do base building for the last two months, and I got up to 35 miles per week at my max. So, yes, I do have a little bit of an aerobic base. That base building is what arose this question because I haven't really noticed any speed benefits from all this slow running I've been doing, and even my slow running is staying just as slow (a little slower than 10:00 minutes per mile).