Quick Running Improvement Plan

Congrats on getting through your first tri. Sounds like you had fun.

Looking at your log it appears you somehow think that not running very much is a good way to train. You need to run to get better at running. There is no secret speedy plan to get past that. You've only run a bit over 27 miles in almost 2 months. You should be running that much every week at a bare minimum. However, you've done so little running that it may take a few months to build to that level safely. About all you can do for the upcoming race at this point is just force yourself to run as fast a pace as you can hold - AND run more between now and then.

I agree running more is a definite must. My logs don't reflect everything I've done, but they aren't that far off. The last two weeks have been really bad though. A very close childhood friend died, @ the age of 22, and I had quite a bit to deal with.  It's been hard to balance school and be able to get a bunch of good workouts in three disciplines in.

I just ordered Jack Daniels Running Formula to help give me a little more structure and something to read. I was thinking some intervals (speedwork) might be good to throw in while still keeping my long slow runs involved.

I did my best to follow the couch to sprint plan. I think if you look my run time is pretty close to what some people put in. I just have never been able to cover a lot of distance in a short period of time. The horrible thing is a sub 6:00min mile was nothing in middle school. ARGH!

I have that book and don't recall where it says doing speedwork is a good idea when a person has almost no base. As has been mentioned previously, "Speedwork is icing on the cake and you don't have a cake yet!"

What you're asking is akin to being a college freshman and asking how to graduate in a month's time. You haven't done the work! Do what's necessary and you should get the results, but there is no easy way.

BTW, sorry about your friend. That's tragic.

I'll just be an echo here.  Your post is kinda like "I want a quick weight loss reduction plan."  True improvements don't happen like that. 

I started running (with NO prior base or experience) in late 2004.   Since my very first 5K in Jan 05, I've knocked off about 30 seconds per mile per year in most all distances.

Patience and consistency.

I run lots and am still slower coming off the bike than I am with a stand alone 5K.  I know I need to practice more bike/run bricks at desired race pace to get faster.  You will too.

One thing I have noticed in myself, is if I am gassed coming off the bike (HR>LT whole way), the run is slower.  You could try spinning a bit the last mile or two to give yourself some legs on the run.  Not sure if the net outcome will be worth it, but experimentation isn't a bad thing   Rome wasn't built in a day, right?

Thanks for all the advice everybody.

I'm extremely happy with the gains I've made so far. When I started running earlier this year I couldn't run for more than two minutes. Tonight for an exercise I was able to do 10min/mile for twenty minutes and I felt pretty good. By the way the Rome wasn't built in a day is a pretty friggin good way to put it.

Anyone have any other suggested readings for running?
 

Hey -- just wanted to throw in my two-cents worth for what you can do before your Sept event:

• Work up to running the 5K distance.  You may have to throw in a couple walk breaks but get to that 3 mile mark before you start your cooldown.
• Practice some bike to run bricks.  When you get done biking, immediately start the run workout.  This may be a run/walk mix, but I recommend doing a mile of this after the bike workout.
• Once you can run the 5K distance without stopping, then you can mix in some *moderate* speedwork.  After about a 10 minute warm-up, run for 30 seconds faster and 30 seconds slower, and repeat this 5 times (building up to 10 repeats).  The faster portion should not be a sprint, but just a moderate increase in speed that you can maintain.  Then run slower for 10 minutes to cool down.
• Longterm, start doing a longer run each week, which may be 4 or 5 miles to begin.  Maybe sign up for a running race that is a couple months out (like a 5 mile race) so you will have a specific goal to train for. 

Don't get discouraged if you don't see any big improvements in three weeks -- stick with it and you will get better!!