Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below im training for the police power test, and i have to run 1.5 miles in 12:45. as of now i can run 1.2 in 11 mins flat. i have 18 more days to train, and ive been training for the last month. My slow twitch muscle fibers are so undertrained, i hardly have endurance. is there any hope for me? also, what should i do in the mean time? ive been running 4 times per week, adding more distance each workout.
making my mile time better?
- Thread starter TheOak84
- Start date
TheOak84 said:
judging by your picture in your avatar, you have got to drop weight if you want to up your long run endurance. you are carrying too much too far.
Also, go run 5 miles a day (in 85 minutes time or less for you) , i'm serious. your times will improve drastically. I ran cross country in high school, and running 6 miles a day helped a butt load for me(standard easy day). This will indeed help you, and you will gain lots of endurance, but you will also lose a lot of weight unfortunately (which will help endurance).
12:45 for 1.5 miles is as slow as hell, really. i used to run 1.5 miles at around 8 min flat as a freshmen in H.S.
sounds like a bitch huh? But you got to do what you got to do mate. good luck. pound those 5 miles everyday and you wil have no problem come testing day.
needtogetaas
New member
When I wanted to get a better time on my 2 mile run in the army I would run nothing but stares for a few weeks. Then when I run on flat ground it was 10X easer. I would say Run stares and sprints.
MsBeverlyHills
New member
well- your not too far off. your running a 9.16 mile & you need to get it down to a 8.5 mile (which yeah is pretty slow). anyways- short sprints (like 3 x 400-200-400-200-400) increase the pace w/each repeat.
OR since you only have 18 days- take a sh!tload of Lipo 6 the morning of your tryout. that should knock some time off your mile
OR since you only have 18 days- take a sh!tload of Lipo 6 the morning of your tryout. that should knock some time off your mile
skullcrushin22
New member
I dont believe the whole weight drop thing. Im 6'2 and when I was 220 I was able run 3 miles in 22 minutes and a mile in under 6. Try some sprint jogs, jog the straight aways and sprint the bends.
skullcrushin22 said:
Weight is definitely a factor. You think a 220 lb kenyan could run a mile in 3:56? no, those guys are skinny on purpose. But that is the extreme and there isn't a goal to be the worlds fastest runner.
I'm also 6'2 and ran a 5k (3.19 miles), mile in 5:04. in 18 minutes flat when i weighed 155 lbs. now that i am 210 that isnt ever going to happen, even in the best of shape.
if you want to sprint fast, train running sprints.
If you want to run long distances in a short amount of time, you have to train at an even longer distance (given the total distance of 1.5 miles isn't very far.) For marathon, you don't need to run 30 miles to train.
fast twitch doesn't help your endurance, it helps agility and quickness and vertical jump. Running long distances require almost none of that.
Oak85,
I'm telling you bud, if you want that 1.5 miler to be a breeze, train running an even longer distance. atleast 3 miles. I ran cross country all through high school, and i have learned that for that 1.5 mile to be quicker and easier, you have to train a longer distance. running stairs/hills some days is a good idea in place of distance. for your last 7 days, i would go run the 1.5 mile just like you would on testing day except the day before do nothing, take a rest. you will pass with flying colors. This isn't an idiots opinion. I know what i'm talking about.
also, you notice you tone up a bit. that's a plus
skullcrushin22
New member
dabuffguy said:
I understand but the goal of 12:45 isnt really extreme at all and can be reached fairly easily. Thats just why I think he doesnt need to drop weight because that time really shouldnt be hard to reach.
Any how you gave some great info at that mile time and 5k time you had was pretty sick. I just ran for college baseball dont know if I ever could do it for fun.
The avatar is old, im down to 155 at 10% bf. The avatar was about 190 at 15% bf.
Here is a little background, i suck at running, so, as a kid, i never trained for it. I always squatted and i loved to sprint, i would run 40s at 4.8-5.0 in HS all day long, i loved it.
Im trying to run longer so that when i do go to the test, the 1.5 will be easy, but my legs get soo tired soo fast, its not that im out of breath, its that im out of steam when i get past a mile... Ill start doing the sprints. Since i started running i havent squatted or deadlifted. I mean, im getting better, the first day i ran i couldnt even run .5 miles... i was horrible, now i can break a mile in around 8 mins. im proud of myself haha.
but i do have a little over 2 weeks left, ill do the sprints, and obviously more running.
one thing though, i live in chicago, and its cold and i run outside, can that hinder my run? I do one lap around my block, stretch, then go for the run. Breathing in that cold air sucks. And, i dont think i eat well before the run, usually cereal and fruit. I prolly should be eating oats, right? haha, of course i should.
Im sure i can meet the 12:45, which really is average. Also, this is the first time im really ever training to run, so my body isnt used to it.
well thanx for the advice!
Here is a little background, i suck at running, so, as a kid, i never trained for it. I always squatted and i loved to sprint, i would run 40s at 4.8-5.0 in HS all day long, i loved it.
Im trying to run longer so that when i do go to the test, the 1.5 will be easy, but my legs get soo tired soo fast, its not that im out of breath, its that im out of steam when i get past a mile... Ill start doing the sprints. Since i started running i havent squatted or deadlifted. I mean, im getting better, the first day i ran i couldnt even run .5 miles... i was horrible, now i can break a mile in around 8 mins. im proud of myself haha.
but i do have a little over 2 weeks left, ill do the sprints, and obviously more running.
one thing though, i live in chicago, and its cold and i run outside, can that hinder my run? I do one lap around my block, stretch, then go for the run. Breathing in that cold air sucks. And, i dont think i eat well before the run, usually cereal and fruit. I prolly should be eating oats, right? haha, of course i should.
Im sure i can meet the 12:45, which really is average. Also, this is the first time im really ever training to run, so my body isnt used to it.
well thanx for the advice!
billfred
New member
dabuffguy said:
^^^ This guy is giving you TERRIBLE advice. 1.5 miles is not long distance. Running 5 miles a day is only going to kill your pace. Do not listen to any advice here.
Go to the people who told you to sprint. The only way you can run faster is to train faster and the only way you can train faster is to run shorter distances.
8.5 minute miles is not fast and not a sprint. You will need very few fast titch muscles to make that time.
Start with 200m and run those at a 8 minute mile pace. Then work up to 400m at 8 minute mile pace. If you can end up doing 8 x 400 meters at 8 minute mile pace, you will be home free come race day.
Make sure you take rest days. You can not sprint every day. Only do 1 run per week that is as long or longer than your 1.5 mile goal.
my .02 cents.
billfred said:
He needs endurance not speed. speed isn't the issue at all. running longer distances obviously improves endurance.
that's why i said for the last week run the 1.5 mile so he can pace himself, although i didn't specify that.
you yourself said
"
what you just said here contradicts the rest of your post. You tell him to train short distances to go faster, yet he doesn't need the fast twitch muscles? (which short distance and sprint training develops)
your logic is flawed and your post contradicts itself.
I realize 1.5 miles isn't really that far, but his endurance is down, so what do you do to build it up? run long distance. it's simple.
billfred
New member
dabuffguy said:
Dood - you are trying to apply your cross country training to a man that needs to run 1.5 miles under 8.5 minutes and he has to do it in 18 days.
He does not have time to build a base, work on endurance and then do speedwork like you did in Highschool.
He has to train for this one goal and he has to do it just like he is training for running a mile. Sprint work almost every day with one endurance run.
You are leading him down a path of injury and failure.
silver_shadow
New member
try incorporating some HIIT into your routine for conditioning.
another idea is to try some bar complexes.
another idea is to try some bar complexes.
skullcrushin22
New member
dabuffguy said:
Yeh I just graduated. Nice man sorry to hear about the elbow. Ive heard some guys come back throwing harder. I was a pitcher too.
billfred said:
no, he has to run it in under 12min somthing. very doable. Anyone can make those improvements he needs to in the time he has.
here:
http://forums.runnersworld.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/608106477/m/934109587
same topic, but they are runners.
How does sprint training improve an endruance run? it can help some, but you wouldn't tell a 5K runner to train with sprints, would you? no he would train with even longer distances, and then do equal distance runs to figure his pace. the same applies for a 2.5K
I agree that sprints will help him get faster, but it won't improve on his endurance enough, which is what he told us is his underlying issue. He says he just runs out of steam sprints make you run out of steem even quicker. he has to improve his endurance, and running longer will help it.
Oh, and sprint training is about 10X more likely to injure someone than long distance.
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billfred said:
Today, i did some sprints after my lifting, after 4, 100 yard sprints, i was dead, but recovered in minuets. tomorrow, im going to run the same amount of sprints, then a mile after.
I forgot how tiring sprints were, after 2, i felt like ive already ran that 1.5 miles, haha.
TheOak84 said:
what did you do for warm up before sprints? stretching?
4 100 yard sprints is not very much at all. If you are doing a sprint workout, you need to do more than that. They don't all have to be 100 yrd either, they can be 50, 75 or 200 or whatever. you HAVE to do more than 4 sprints. that really is weak. i'm not trying to come down on you, but help you realize that the 17 days you have are little and precious. going half way isn't going to get you to where you want to be.
you have to push yourself beyond what you feel like doing regardless of how tired you are. If you can no longer sprint, take some laps around the track.
if you recovered in only minutes, it means your body can take more. when i finish sprint or distance workouts, it takes me about 90 minutes before i feel okay again. because i push myself hard.
TheOak84 said:
word
o2 intake is very important, and honestly that didn't occur to me. still, if you need endurance more than speed, long distances will help more than sprints. long distance training also improves o2 intake.
i never said sprints won't help you at all. they will help, but they shouldn't be the focus of your training.
billfred
New member
TheOak84 said:
You are on the right track. I did not register your age but you must be careful to avoid injury. If you sprint too fast, you risk straining a hammy.
If you try to take off and do a long run without working into it (as other poster suggest) you are going to get a sore knee or some some shin splints.
You need to just train for your goal - not to fast and not too long and don't try to do it all in one day.
I think you are on the right path. Good luck.
