Pace and time, are they interchangeable?

During the course of my training for my first marathon, I made the mistake of just focusing on time. I was getting frustrated when I plateaued and couldn't decrease my speed anymore, without thinking of why. What I failed to realize is I was using pace and time interchangeably, inevitably leading to my lack of improvement. I've learned now that my time and speed is a component of my pace, along with many other factors, which I failed to address during my training. These factors included stride, cadence, and breathing. In hindsight I realize I did not address cadence or stride at all. I also noticed how difficult they are to change. I have extremely short legs, so my stride length is naturally short, which also makes my cadence more like the "pitter patter" or scurrying of a mouse lol I've been trying to focusing on longer strides, but it's hard to keep a good cadence when I do. I now see why they say to give yourself at least three months to change. Baby steps. It's not three months to get to the 13 miles, but 3 months to get into a groove along the way. This is something that I could only learn by trying, so time to take it to the course and change it for the next one!