My steady-state running speed doesn't seem to increase

Question

First off all the best wishes to everyone! May you all achieve new sportive heights this year :)

I have a small question. I did a cardio-test last year to determine my heartrate-zones. Together with a training-plan. The doctor told me that doing speedwork as noted in the results would increase my steady-state speed. Yet I did all the exercises the last couple of (6) months and yet I still keep running at 9'15"/mile (5'45"/km) and I don't notice any (not even slightly) difference in my heart-rate whilst running at that pace.

Is it possible to increase the base-running speed? If so how long does it take before the intensive training (intervals & repeats) start to influence this speed?

Any advice (or new insights) would be greatly appreciated.

FYI: The training-schedule for this week (but similar to every other week).
Monday: 1h of easy running (5'45"-6'/km). Heart rate below aerobic threshold
Tuesday: 10' Warmup -  5 times( 1 mile at 5'/km + 0.5mile at 6'/km). Heart rate between Aerobic & lactate-treshold - 10' Cooldown
Thursday: 10' Warmup - 5 times (4' All-out + 2' recovery). Heart rate during interval higher then lactate-treshhold - 10' Cooldown
Friday: 30min to 40min easy - running at 6'/km. Heart rate below aerobic threshold
Sunday: 2h Easy Running - (5'45"-6'/km). Heart rate below aerobic threshold

Note 1

• Sleep is OK (8h to 9h) each day easily
• losing weight isn't an option. I'm already very thin: BMI: 21 / fat percentage: 10 to 15%

Note 2 I did a heart-performance test with a specialised doctor & this was the output

• <145 bpm (fat burn zone)
• 145bpm - 155bpm (lsd-zone)
• 155bpm aerobic threshold (achieved while running for a long time at 5'45"/km)
• 156bpm - 163bpm (extensive zone)
• 163bpm - 169bpm (intensive zone)
• 170bpm (=lactate treshhold)

Answer 1

One thing you could try is something called "aerobic intervals" or "slow intervals". I heard about the strategy below from Tom 'Tinman' Schwartz at The Run Zone (source).

Go run a 200m as fast as you can (do a proper warmup, which probably includes some easy jogging for 5-15 minutes, some dynamics/drills, and some strides or accelerations), and time it.

Add 50% to that time (so, if you ran a 26, add 13 seconds, which gives 39 seconds).

Then, every week or two, do intervals of 200 meters with a 200 meter easy jog in between. Start with a few, then add a couple every week. For example, in week 1 you might do 4x200 with 200 jog, in week 2 6x200 with 200 jog, week 3 8x200 with 200 jog, week 4 10x200, then 12x200, 14x200, etc. It's probably not wise to do more than 20x200, though it depends on your fitness. Listen to your body and don't overdo it. Also, run at the right pace!

This will do several things to your body, but one thing is that it will improve your stroke volume, which is an important part of improving your running. Cardiac output is a measure of how fast your heart pumps blood, and it can be calculated by multiplying stroke volume (how much blood is in one beat) and heart rate (how many times your heart beats per unit time). When you do these intervals, your heart rate rises during the fast 200. Then, during the easy jog 200, your heart rate slows down faster than your blood flow slows down. This means an excess of blood is filling the chambers in your heart, which causes a little bit of a stretch. Do the intervals enough, and your stroke volume should increase, which should give you a performance improvement.

Answer 2

Thanks for interesting question.

Sometime ago I was talking with friend, who trained 100 pushups program. Basically you have steps to do 100 pushups. For him problem was to go over 90. He started to run - and that helped.

Not sure what is limiting you, but I'm sure you need to change something in other to deal with it. You can do other exercises, same exercises in different way, or try to work on technic.

From this question I've learned that cycling is good for going higher with VO2. So being you I would try it - as different exercise.

Here is other video helping people to run faster. That is more about speed, coordination, but I believe that it can be helpful in your case as well. You can put it around your warmup. Also that is about motion patterns which is good for all, no matter how you run.

Answer 3

Weightlifting, jumping circuits(2x week minimum) starting with basic exercises to more advanced exercises in progression. Olympic lifting at least 2x week.. try dumbbell cleans, snatches, RDL's, etc.. Also, running is as easy and fast as your mechanics.. simple.. when running, flick the heel to butt, step over (like stepping over tall grass), and put the foot down.. this will keep you on a constant of forward pushing and facilitate natural alignment.. Also, running all out isn't good unless that's like once a month if you're wanting to increase speed. You need to range with beginning of week fastest, middle of week medium speed, and then final part of the week speed endurance ( more tempo, 70-80% effort max).. ranges of effort should always be between 50-85%.. Perceived effort is more effective on everything. At the end of workouts, cool down is most important 15 minutes minimum slow jogging.. it's amazing how this one task will transform you. Also, if you rate your fatigue level below a 7/10 at the end of workouts.. you did too much.. ALWAYS.. it's all about the next day.. each training session should lead a transition into the next.. ALWAYS. And that's that. Enjoy.