OK, thank you so much, Fluffy and Len.
My next quest, then, is to take the helpful advice re: the intervals, fartleks, hill repeats and tempos and make it more specific. For example, if I can only do 2-3 runs a week, with the sessions ranging anywhere from 30-60 minutes, what kind of mix should I aim for? 1 interval session, 1 hill repeat, 1 tempo run? Some other combination? (I'm sure there are options, but any guidance is appreciated!)
And, once a mix is decided on, how can I make choices for each part of the mix? For example, how many intervals and at what pace? How many hill repeats and for how long - the full 30-60 minutes? How fast should the tempo portion of the run be, and, how fast should the non-tempo portion be? When should I speed up my pace and how much?
I appreciated the calculator Fluffy linked to because it made things so specific. However, it didn't entirely make sense to me since it never had me training at anywhere near the baseline (5k) pace that it based the suggested training paces off of. Not being critical, just not understanding what is intended.
If it helps, I can comfortably maintain a pace of 9:00/mile for about 4 miles at this point. I'd like to try and keep lowering that just to have a goal to work toward, even if progress is relatively slow. Again, any links and suggestions that can help me toward a specific plan would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!
Bryan