32 years old

ran cross country in high school, spent my 20's partying, got back into jogging like 3-4 years ago though

question is, what do you do to push to the next level or performance in mid distance running for PRs?

i typically run 3-6 miles a day at a jog/run pace but honestly, the days i try to push for PRs aren't much better than my daily run times

Run 4-7 miles next day

There are a few different strategies you could try

For me, front end pacing is the most important. I try to hold back on the first half of my run and then push harder on the way back home.

If you're training for a specific distance, work in some slower, longer duration days.

Mix up your runs, its necessary to push further and faster

Add a couple days of interval work- especially if you're near a track

Get a fitbit or comparable device/app that has mile marker or distance alerts, I find that helpful when I run

Play around with pace and distance. Interval work can help a lot. When I played rugby I rank 4-8k daily for training and I did about 30-60 mins of speed work (sprints until collapse, pretty much) and that helped my pace a lot. I run 5ks a couple times a year with people who race 10k's, 20's and I absolutely destroy them. I don't consider myself a runner by any means but my summer hills sprints and playing basketball all the time are enough to get me to a good road race pace. Plus I lift.

Runners usually lack strength and unless they're running hecka long distances, not being strong is hurting their chances of reaching new PRs.

yeah, i'm just never sure how far/fast to go on interval days. i typically shoot to run a 5k in 19:30-20:00 flat on my normal days, sub 19:00 when i grind which i've only been able to do like twice

when i do interval training i usually just burn for a mile, but would short distances help more? i typically end up in the 5:40 area, aim for sub 5:30 but would half mile or quarter mile intervals at faster pace help more?



yeah, as of the new year i started lifting a little and working my core more as i've heard muscle can help improve times on short to mid distance runs

i'm definitely not a distance runner, i've done like 3 10k's and hit sub 40:00 once, the others were like the 42:00 area but honestly those were days i just didn't feel tired after 5k so i kept going lol

your performance at mid distance is going to depend entirely on your critical power. you need to orient your training to improve your critical power as much as possible, and usually that involves lots of steady state at critical power and intervals on average slightly higher than critical power.

The answer is always sprints/explosive training in general.

like 0.1-0.25 mile all out sprints?

i feel like i can cruise at 9.5-9.7 mph pretty steadily, but 10.0+ and i'm burned out after a mile and a half to two miles. i'm trying to get to a 6 minute mile pace for 3 miles but nothing seems to work. i get to the 9.7mph pace, but anything closer to 10.0 and i'm toast

when i sprint i'm usually in the 13-14 range, so maybe try that for the straights and walk the curves?

Check this out;

https://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/sprint-ahead-three-benefits-of-running-short-intervals

Maybe I'm wrong 'I'm not a runner', but I've always heard that if you want to better your performance in long distance running, you do that by sprinting..

I'd try some 75-100m sprints and hill sprints.

God bless you, I'm getting the sweats just thinking about this..

thanks man, i'll definitely give it a shot