Runner's plateau?

[MrA79]

So I do jogging\running on the gym treadmill as my main cardio method - on a good day, can go 2.5 miles or so at 5 mph pace (which is a decent jog for me - bottom heavy, not tall, short legs, probably not great running form). Problem is, I seem to be stuck at that run distance w\o either having to switch to long walking intervals or tiring out completely.

Guess my question is - how do I go about 'breaking through' the wall I'm stuck at? I try to mix in hill and fartlek days, but I just can't seem to maintain any sort of quicker pace over a 6-7 mile run.

5'10, 247ish (but with a decent bit of muscle mass, and hey - I started at 360 2 years ago)... do I need to just focus on losing more and more weight and rely on the reduced exertion that will come with it? My goal is essentially to just be able to keep up an extended run at 6.0 mph pace or so. Thanks!

 

[SociallyChallenged]

You need to vary your running program. If you run the same speed, the same distance all the time, your body adapt to be good at that, but not much more. You can increase the speed, increase the distance, complete some intervals of running and walking, etc. If you increase speed, you reduce the time you run/distance and vice versa. There are a ton of online articles with suggest changes that you can try if you google it.

 

[MrA79]

You need to vary your running program. If you run the same speed, the same distance all the time, your body adapt to be good at that, but not much more. You can increase the speed, increase the distance, complete some intervals of running and walking, etc. If you increase speed, you reduce the time you run/distance and vice versa. There are a ton of online articles with suggest changes that you can try if you google it.

That makes sense... sort of what I figured. I had hoped doing hill\fartlek days would help, but maybe I need to be a bit more dramatic on changes. I tried to couch to 5k thing, but didn't really do much - the first 3\4 were to easy, and the last 1\4 was a bit beyond me. I buy Runner's World most months, but that seems geared more toward cross-country types.

Thanks!

 

[pauldun170]

So I do jogging\running on the gym treadmill as my main cardio method - on a good day, can go 2.5 miles or so at 5 mph pace (which is a decent jog for me - bottom heavy, not tall, short legs, probably not great running form). Problem is, I seem to be stuck at that run distance w\o either having to switch to long walking intervals or tiring out completely.

Guess my question is - how do I go about 'breaking through' the wall I'm stuck at? I try to mix in hill and fartlek days, but I just can't seem to maintain any sort of quicker pace over a 6-7 mile run.

5'10, 247ish (but with a decent bit of muscle mass, and hey - I started at 360 2 years ago)... do I need to just focus on losing more and more weight and rely on the reduced exertion that will come with it? My goal is essentially to just be able to keep up an extended run at 6.0 mph pace or so. Thanks!

The weight is not going to help but as long as you keep up the running and a clean diet the weight will continue to come off.

I found the two best ways for me to push myself for distance:
A. Running partner
B. Run on the street with a nice playlist of music coming in through the head phones.

 

[RagingBITCH]

That makes sense... sort of what I figured. I had hoped doing hill\fartlek days would help, but maybe I need to be a bit more dramatic on changes. I tried to couch to 5k thing, but didn't really do much - the first 3\4 were to easy, and the last 1\4 was a bit beyond me. I buy Runner's World most months, but that seems geared more toward cross-country types.

Thanks!

The point of the couch to 5K programs are structure. I was once like you - run one pace 4x a week. I eventually worked my way up to about 5 miles a day and ran my first 5K and wondered how I push myself past that point - that was the "ahh-hah" moment. They're good to learn the general basics/get variety into your workout past one pace, one distance several times a week. (As SC alluded to)

So there's three main things you can vary with running - speed/pace, incline/decline, and distance. There's also different types of runs:

Easy run: what it sounds like - an easy run. It's at a pace that you can comfortably have a conversation at. Used more for recovery from a hard workout, or just getting some additional miles in during the week.

Long run: longest run of the week done at your easy run pace. Goal is to get your body to utilize or learn to use fat as it's main fuel source vs carbs. The "general" rule of thumb is the long run should be no more than 1/3 of your total weekly mileage. (IE, if you were to run 33 miles this week, your long run should be no more than 11 miles) I think that number can be pushed out to about 40-50%, but to each their own.

Track work: work at the track. 400m (one loop), some multiple of that, or even 1/2 or 1/4 of that. (200m/100m) Used to help increase speed, leg turnover, confidence, among other things.

Tempo - runs designed to push your lactate threshold past what your body is currently at. Can be timed (20 minute tempo) or distance based. (Mileage based tempo)

Fartlek - unstructured speedplay. Benefits of working on speed without the "pressure" of track work or tempo. IE, run from one light pole to the next at balls out speed. Or 1/4 mile fast, 1/4 mile recover, repeat. Or whatever your body is feeling that day.

Hills - running hills, both incline and decline. Build power in your legs, work on proper form/efficiency, learn to love them.