Why Can't I Improve My Running Ability After Years Of Working Out?

Improving your running time and endurance is a delicate process -- every runner has specific needs, goals and a unique body to which training should be tailored. Working out consistently does not necessarily mean your running will improve. Always performing the same exercises at the same pace will continue to give you the same results. Training should include a mix of distance, speed work and intervals at varying intensities as well as adequate rest.

Improving Your Mile

Running a mile requires endurance, power and the ability to move forward very quickly. Performing intervals, hill sprints and high-intensity plyometrics every week can help improve your mile time. Running Planet recommends cutting out static stretching before your run and warming up dynamically instead. Dynamic stretches take your limbs through their range of motion without holding a pose. Lunges, squats and leg swings, for instance, increase blood flow and stretch your leg muscles. Perform at least one long distance run per week, and practice sprinting through your fatigue threshold. Run five to ten 100-meter sprints at the end of a workout to improve your race pace.

5K Performance

Athletes able to run three or more miles can improve 5K times by increasing their 200-meter split times. First, calculate your 200 meter split using your 5K race pace. Find a local track to practice -- running half a lap is 200 m. According to Beginnertriathlete.com, choosing a 200 m goal pace slightly faster than your average time can improve your racing performance. If you normally run 200 m in over a minute, aim for sub-minute splits. Two times per week perform eight 200 m sprints at this goal pace, with 100 m of rest in between. Your rest time should allow you to perform your next sprint at the goal pace -- if you are too tired to complete it, your goal pace is too fast.

Calculating Your 200 Meter Split

Take your 5K time and divide it by 25. To do this, first convert seconds into a fraction of a minute. If you run a 5K in 24 minutes and 47 seconds, divide 47 by 60. Your time is now 24.783 minutes, which you divide by 25 to get 0.99132. Multiply this answer by 60 again to find your split time in seconds. If your answer is a whole number, it represents minutes -- no more calculation needed. In the preceding example, the split time is approximately 59 seconds. Calculating your 200 m split is helpful for half marathon and marathon training as well; you are easily able to calculate your 800 and 1600 m race paces.

Half-Marathon and Marathon Running

Improving your half or full marathon time takes dedication and patience. In the book "Daniels' Running Formula" by Dr. Jack Daniels, five running intensities are recommended to improve your distance performance -- easy long runs, marathon-pace runs, threshold-pace runs, interval-pace runs and repetition-pace runs. Easy, long runs and marathon-pace runs help your muscle cells adapt to optimal energy use. Threshold-pace runs improve your lactic acid threshold -- the point of fatigue. Intervals increase your VO2 max while repetition-pace runs boost your speed and running economy. As a general rule of thumb, increase distance before increasing your pace. When you do increase your pace, aim to shave five to 10 seconds off your mile pace and decrease the amount of intervals you perform.