Quote Originally Posted by Bones8 View Post
If you want to increase your distance you'll likely need to slow down. I train in zone 3 on my heart rate monitor as I'm building up to 10k, which means i am only training at an 11 min mile or slower. It took me a while to get used to, because most of its are used to the mindset that if we aren't pushing ourselves to moderate pain we aren't going to see progress. Next month i plan on starting a mix of endurance runs, speed intervals, and tempo runs. For now, it's slow and steady
I'm sure you're right that I'd need to slow down to build endurance for distance. But with the heat and humidity here (Playa del Carmen, Mexico), I don't want to be out on the track any longer than I am since I am not very good at getting up any earlier than I do already (around 6:30 am). So my current plan is just to stick with the 5K distance for fitness and bone strength since I have no aspirations to do long runs. I'm primarily a cyclist, but since the cycling is limited here, it's nice to have the options to run and do yoga for variety!

If we are ever in a cooler climate, I might work on building running distance, but for now, I just want to get 'er done and get back to our rental for a cool shower!