I was wondering is it better to get your speed up or more distance before the speed. I am still hanging on to the hand rails of the treadmill because I tend to start to loose my balance a good bit when walking with my hand off the rails.

So does anyone know if its better to get speed or distance on the treadmill?

If you were walking outside....I would walk longer to burn the fat and alternate short power workouts for muscle and opening the heart and lungs.
As for the tread mill, you have to just keep mixing it up or you will get what we in Horses call" ring sour'
To loose the hand on rail practice , slow down the machine till you can do it with out and start reprograming yourself before speeding up ..if you start grabbing the rail again you are regressing...slow down again .The Mustang Chef