Runners: advice please on what next. Thanks!

[Northerner]

Hi, would appreciate some advice please. Have ran before sporadically but have been through a lull of about 5/6 months of no running. Started again 2 weeks ago and nearly gave up as I thought I was dying!

But stuck at it and now really enjoy it. Have felt down in the dumps lately and it has really lifted my mood. Came back after tonights run on a total high and that was in teh pouring rain!

I can run at a steady pace now for about 30/35 minutes and want to increase. Should I increase speed or distance?

Also any tips on releiveing boredem, it's being bored taht makes me head home instead of continuing, which I'm sure I could as there is still 'some fire' left when I stop IYKWIM!

But can't say enough how fab I feel after a run.

Thanks.

In terms of relieving boredom, how about an ipod with your fave upbeat tracks on, or driving to somewhere different for a run?

I run with a mate Northerner so can't help with the boredom. We generally put the world to rights for 20 minutes then struggle to breathe for the remainder of the time.

I ran for 30 minutes for a long time but finally realised that as I struggled for most of it, it probably wasn't my distance. Now I'm doing about 50 minutes to an hour and enjoying it much more. I just increased my distance by a few minutes each week and also did the occasional run where I ran out for 30 minutes and then ran/walked back. On the whole I ran much more than walked and could manage to run for the whole hour within maybe 4 weeks.

As far as speed goes, the best way to do that is to do speedwork (no sh!t sherlock lol). That usually involves running short distances fast and having a recovery jog/walk. I don't do this often as TBH it makes me feel a bit sick. Have a look at the Runners World website.

I suppose deciding on speed or distance depends on what you want from your runs and how much time you have. Or you can do a bit of both.