Quickest way to improve mile time?

Brocksterdanza
Brocksterdanza Posts: 208 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Run more, ie slow sustained cardio on elliptical or on trails? Or shorter time frames of hiit?

Replies

  • Alisonswim46
    Alisonswim46 Posts: 208 Member
    HIIT! In two months I went from 9:47 to 8:33! I did do a few sustained runs in there, but HIIT helped me improve the most!
  • Brocksterdanza
    Brocksterdanza Posts: 208 Member
    Thanks @Joenali what program or method did you use? Ie, distance, time, frequency, etc
  • Alisonswim46
    Alisonswim46 Posts: 208 Member
    Both distance and time. 200s , 400s, 30 second sprints, tabatas, etc. and like I said, longer sustained runs of 2-3 minutes and up to a 5k.
  • Brocksterdanza
    Brocksterdanza Posts: 208 Member
    How many times per week?
  • Alisonswim46
    Alisonswim46 Posts: 208 Member
    3-4
  • Brocksterdanza
    Brocksterdanza Posts: 208 Member
    Awesome, thanks for the info...
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    edited December 2016
    Brocksterdanza wrote: »
    Run more, ie slow sustained cardio on elliptical or on trails? Or shorter time frames of hiit?

    Where are you starting from? And do you mean your mile time, or your mile pace?

    A track mile improvement plan is very different to the kind of training needed to improve pace on longer runs.

    Given that you're asking the question here, and you've not xchallenged the nonsense upthread, I'd suggest you need to add more training volume. Once you're running 10K continuously 3-4 times per week then there is some value in dedicated speed sessions.

    Different paces are appropriate for different events. My best mile time was just over 6 minutes, but for a half marathon I'll hold a 9 min/ mile, increassing that to 11min/mi for a marathon or Ultra.

    And fwiw ellipticals aren't running.
  • Alisonswim46
    Alisonswim46 Posts: 208 Member
    For me, I'm strictly talking about running one mile. How is it nonsense if it worked? I'm not saying I'm a speed demon, far from it! I was able to drop over 1minute from my time by do n HIIT. If that was my goal to run faster, I think I've met that goal with using HIIT. And why do you need to be running 6 miles 3 times a week first before adding speed work? What if you don't want to run 6 miles? Lol!! Lighten up.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    Brocksterdanza wrote: »
    Run more, ie slow sustained cardio on elliptical or on trails? Or shorter time frames of hiit?

    Where are you starting from? And do you mean your mile time, or your mile pace?

    A track mile improvement plan is very different to the kind of training needed to improve pace on longer runs.

    Given that you're asking the question here, and you've not xchallenged the nonsense upthread, I'd suggest you need to add more training volume. Once you're running 10K continuously 3-4 times per week then there is some value in dedicated speed sessions.

    Different paces are appropriate for different events. My best mile time was just over 6 minutes, but for a half marathon I'll hold a 9 min/ mile, increassing that to 11min/mi for a marathon or Ultra.

    And fwiw ellipticals aren't running.

    I agree with this except the part about needing to run 10K's three to 4 times a week. A person can very well work with in the confines of a 5k.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    edited December 2016
    Joenali wrote: »
    For me, I'm strictly talking about running one mile. How is it nonsense if it worked? I'm not saying I'm a speed demon, far from it! I was able to drop over 1minute from my time by do n HIIT. If that was my goal to run faster, I think I've met that goal with using HIIT. And why do you need to be running 6 miles 3 times a week first before adding speed work? What if you don't want to run 6 miles? Lol!! Lighten up.

    Bluntly, you could have improved it about the same just buy improving your steady state volume, with significantly less injury risk.

  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    RoxieDawn wrote: »
    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    Brocksterdanza wrote: »
    Run more, ie slow sustained cardio on elliptical or on trails? Or shorter time frames of hiit?

    Where are you starting from? And do you mean your mile time, or your mile pace?

    A track mile improvement plan is very different to the kind of training needed to improve pace on longer runs.

    Given that you're asking the question here, and you've not xchallenged the nonsense upthread, I'd suggest you need to add more training volume. Once you're running 10K continuously 3-4 times per week then there is some value in dedicated speed sessions.

    Different paces are appropriate for different events. My best mile time was just over 6 minutes, but for a half marathon I'll hold a 9 min/ mile, increassing that to 11min/mi for a marathon or Ultra.

    And fwiw ellipticals aren't running.

    I agree with this except the part about needing to run 10K's three to 4 times a week. A person can very well work with in the confines of a 5k.

    Getting a decent quality speed session in needs about 10K. Warm up of about 2K, then three or four cruise intervals or a 4-6K tempo followed by another 2K to cool down again.

    Trying to fit a session into 5K means very little opportunity for training adaptation.
  • Brocksterdanza
    Brocksterdanza Posts: 208 Member
    If i were to go out and run a mile on the track right now as fast as i could, id likely be in the 9:45 area... however when i run 5k distances, my mile pace is up around 12 minutes... im a big guy, 260 pounds.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    Brocksterdanza wrote: »
    If i were to go out and run a mile on the track right now as fast as i could, id likely be in the 9:45 area... however when i run 5k distances, my mile pace is up around 12 minutes... im a big guy, 260 pounds.

    OK, so it sounds like your objective is more about improving your place for endurance running rather that track performance?

    In that case I'd recommend just increasing your volume, particularly as you're heavy.

    My own experience, when I went from 5K to 10k my 5K time reduced from 32mins to 25. When I then went up to Half Marathon it reduced again to 22 mins. I now focus on Marathon and Ultra so I'm not seeing any further improvement as my objectives are around distance.
  • Alisonswim46
    Alisonswim46 Posts: 208 Member
    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    Joenali wrote: »
    For me, I'm strictly talking about running one mile. How is it nonsense if it worked? I'm not saying I'm a speed demon, far from it! I was able to drop over 1minute from my time by do n HIIT. If that was my goal to run faster, I think I've met that goal with using HIIT. And why do you need to be running 6 miles 3 times a week first before adding speed work? What if you don't want to run 6 miles? Lol!! Lighten up.

    Bluntly, you could have improved it about the same just buy improving your steady state volume, with significantly less injury risk.
    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    Joenali wrote: »
    For me, I'm strictly talking about running one mile. How is it nonsense if it worked? I'm not saying I'm a speed demon, far from it! I was able to drop over 1minute from my time by do n HIIT. If that was my goal to run faster, I think I've met that goal with using HIIT. And why do you need to be running 6 miles 3 times a week first before adding speed work? What if you don't want to run 6 miles? Lol!! Lighten up.

    Bluntly, you could have improved it about the same just buy improving your steady state volume, with significantly less injury risk.
    But I choose not to. And I'm Not injured.

  • chunkytfg
    chunkytfg Posts: 339 Member
    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    Brocksterdanza wrote: »
    If i were to go out and run a mile on the track right now as fast as i could, id likely be in the 9:45 area... however when i run 5k distances, my mile pace is up around 12 minutes... im a big guy, 260 pounds.

    OK, so it sounds like your objective is more about improving your place for endurance running rather that track performance?

    In that case I'd recommend just increasing your volume, particularly as you're heavy.

    My own experience, when I went from 5K to 10k my 5K time reduced from 32mins to 25. When I then went up to Half Marathon it reduced again to 22 mins. I now focus on Marathon and Ultra so I'm not seeing any further improvement as my objectives are around distance.


    This is exactly right. Your current mile time is realistically too slow to have a major benefit from sprint specific training and the load you'd be putting your body through while doing it is liable to start seeing you taking breaks due to niggles that need rest or maybe even something worse. Just keep running, drop more pounds and learn to love pushing yourself as hard as you can for the last half a mile back home from every run and you'll see those times come down

    My experience of 1 mile time reduction is the same as above. As volume and length increased times came down on the shorter runs but I eventually hit a limit and have since spent the last 18 months or so with a trainer doing sprint specific training bringing my mile time down to under 6 mins(just!!).
  • richardgavel
    richardgavel Posts: 1,001 Member
    Brocksterdanza wrote: »
    If i were to go out and run a mile on the track right now as fast as i could, id likely be in the 9:45 area... however when i run 5k distances, my mile pace is up around 12 minutes... im a big guy, 260 pounds.

    Are you working on weight loss, because you will tend to get faster as you lose weight with the amount of effort to produce the same speed will get easier.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,765 Member
    Increasing your base mileage will help your speed. You can include short faster intervals (strides or fartleks) once a week or so, but a low mileage runner really risks injury by pushing the pace too much too often.
  • Charlene_1985
    Charlene_1985 Posts: 122 Member
    I agree with increasing volume and dropping more weight at this point. As your body conditions from running 10 minutes to 20, to 30, etc, you will see an increase in your speed. I agree with the 10K distance and then adding in some speed intervals. Once you settle into a training plan, I also convert my long distance run into minutes to keep me from trying to speed or "rush" thru it. Example, I run around 8:30 for a 10K. If I want to run 7 miles, I convert 7 miles to 9:30 and run for 66:30 vs 7 miles.
  • niblue
    niblue Posts: 339 Member
    spiriteagle99 wrote: »
    Increasing your base mileage will help your speed.

    That's what I've found. I used to do intervals but have seen a bigger improvement by just running longer distances - my main distances are 5K and 10K but I've been running up to 10 miles (16K) so far. During that I've seen quite an improvement in my 1 mile times, down to 7:18 (by running the first mile of a 5K at a faster than normal pace). I'm currently a 26 minute 5K, 56 minute 10K runner so not fast!

    From the original posters info I'd suggest that the mile time is a bit of an irrelevance and would just focus on gradually improving endurance and the speed will come.

    Alternatively you could do what I do for the mile and just incorporate it into a longer run - what I sometimes do is just hit the first mile really hard then back off after that to get my breath back before returning to a decent pace. Tends to get me decent 5K times, in fact I think my current 5K PB might have been on one of those runs - the one were I set my current 1K and 1 mile PB's.
  • curlsintherack
    curlsintherack Posts: 465 Member
    You do not need to run a 10k before you can start your speed improvements. I had knocked 1:30 off my mile times before I ever ran over 4 miles per run. Not everyone has tie desire or even needs to be able to run 6 miles. It could actually negatively effect other fitness goals such as powerlifting.
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