It is true.
Background:
Not extremely fast, 5K PR 17:03
Okay, in June the road race season was in full swing and I decided that I would start running some solid workouts. So I had been running on and off for the previous 3 months, but nothing solid. I started doing the faster type speed sessions and quickly improved. I ran 20:01 in my first week, then 19:15 in my next race. Then I ran 19:45, followed by a dismal 20:47. I did a quick peak then fizzled. After that I decided to try out the HADD training. For the past 9 weeks I ran all but 5 days. That is 58/63 days, which was very consistent for me. All of those runs were between 8:00-8:45 per mile. In the last couple of weeks I was able to get my heart rate around 160 BPM at 7:45/mile pace or so. But I never ran faster than that. So I decided that my base phase is over and I'm moving into a Hill/tempo phase of 4-5 weeks. But before I jumped into that, I tried running a race. I ran 18:29. That is a little less than 6:00min/mile. It was a controlled hard effort. I knew I could go much faster, but just lacked the gears. I honestly thought I was going to run around 20 minutes. Slow running does not produce slow times. Slow running produces a great base, which in turn will eventually produce great times. I'm going to be training harder now, so I suspect I'll be real close to my PR by the end of November, but we'll see. I just thought everyone should know that going after your PRs even if you aren't fast or are older, there is still hope. It may have a lot to do w/your base buildup. Don't run so fast on easy days, go a little longer at a slower pace, you'll be impressed with you endurance when you jump in a race. Patience and consistency!!
Godspeed