Not convinced about the "run slow to run fast" method for beginners

Everyone in this group says to keep a comfy pace for months, but after 8 weeks of slow jogging at 12 min miles I saw ZERO improvement in my 5k time. I switched to doing one hard interval session per week for 6 weeks and dropped 2 minutes off my time. Has anyone else seen better results pushing harder earlier?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jesse6d ago

Jumping in here because nobody's mentioned the real variable in all this - your starting fitness level. If you're coming from zero athletic background, slow running builds that base you literally don't have. But if you were already active, like playing soccer twice a week or lifting, your body can handle harder work way sooner. The "go slow forever" advice assumes everyone is starting from couch potato status, which isn't true. You probably already had the aerobic engine, you just needed to teach your legs to turn over faster. That's the missing piece nobody talks about.

logan_thomas876d agoMost Upvoted

Ha, yeah the "slow running cult" is strong in here. They'll tell you to jog like a grandpa for six months and then magically transform. My experience was the same as yours - 12 minute miles for 10 weeks did nothing except make me feel slow and bored. Threw in some 400 meter repeats and bam, actually got faster. I think the whole "easy pace forever" thing is for people who are scared to hurt. Not saying run yourself into a hospital, but a little hard work beats a lot of nothing every time.