5k trainee wrote:
Another giver of +1 wrote:
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4. Think about running faster on your hard days - currently Wednesday and Friday.
5. You're young, so perhaps run 3 hard days per week - Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
6. Shorten your long run to between 90 minutes and 2 hours but run slower.
7. Do a variety of sessions on your hard days. Don't run as fast as possible on hard session days but run controlled and think about what you're trying to achieve with the session. Don't be fixated on times but think about the feeling. For example, 6 x 200m might be with the 200s feeling fast and relaxed. Don't be fixated on the number of repeats in a session. If your schedule says 8 x 400m and you start to struggle on the 6th 400, stop there.
I think your main problem (besides any health issues) is not recovering well enough on easy days to be able to run the hard days well.
The only way she'll get faster is to run faster. Running faster hurts and there's no way to get around it than to put in the work and get used to and then raise the bar and do it again.
Her #1 hobby jogger mistake isn't necessarily that she's running at marathon pace, its that she really only has 3 speeds. 'Easy', tempo day, or all out sprints? There's no variety and her legs likely tap out along with a concrete 5 year mindset that anything above what feels 'easy' is immediately gonna feel too hard or too fast and that she can't handle it.
OP get a copy of Daniel's Running Formula and get a doctors opinion if your medical condition has a direct impact on your fitness levels.
We are actually in agreement. Too narrow a range of training paces. However, she should not try to add faster paces until she has throttled back her daily easy pace and allow her legs sufficient recovery. Of course, monitoring serum ferritin should also be routine.