How fast am I?

I continue to run around an 11minute/mile pace...but then again, I am running for 51 minutes. So, after a bit of googling, I find that there are race pace calculators out there on the internet! They are actually kind of cool, as they can predict proper paces, given current speed for various distances. Obviously, you are going to be a lot faster pace for a 1 mile distance than a 13.1 mile distance! And, of course, the calculators assume you are conditioned to run the longer distances...and I know I need to continue to work on that part. But, hey, I'm curious!

Here is a Runner's World one that I keep going back to... Right now, I am running 5.3 miles in 1:03. Now, that also includes 12 minutes of walking, so I'm really running about 4.6 miles in 51 minutes, which roughly equates to 11:30 run pace. Plugging this into the calculator, I should expect to run a 5K in a tad less than 35 minutes (34:27 to be exact).

So, how do I get faster while still trying to increase my distance? Those two goals seem contradictory. I really want to be able to run for 60 minutes straight by the end of summer, but also want to feel extra proud of my race time at my first 5K. Of course, I know adrenaline will push me to be a tad faster at the first race, but I want to know I can do a better time consistently!

So, I go back to google...my search engine of choice (probably just because I like to say "google")...and find this Runner's World article.

Basically, I need to determine what my "miracle mile" time is. How fast can I reasonably run a 1 mile distance? If I use my handy dandy calculator, I would expect this to be around a 10 minute/mile pace....but I need to attempt this at home, but when? I have another 51 minute run scheduled for tonight, so maybe tomorrow night. I'll report back!