Mile and a half run time (treadmill and/or outside)

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Hi everyone! :)

So I'll start with my run times. On the treadmill I run a mile and a half in 11.30 using a speed 12, 12.5 and 14 and my outside runtime quickest I've timed so far is 13.35.

I really want to get my treadmill time down by 40 seconds and I really want my outside time under 10.30mins.

I run outside 5 times a week, 3 long runs (over 5 miles) and 2 mile and a half timed runs in the evening and i go on the treadmill 3 times a week in the morning to try a timed run. So I was just wondering what other people's run times are so far :) and what speeds you use on the treadmill, any tips, etc.

Thanks in advance guys ????

Replies

  • irNathaniel
    irNathaniel Posts: 178 Member
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    Why are you timing a mile and a half? lol - i go by mile, Your inside time should also be quicker, as it is a constant with no hills or obstacles and you detirmin the speed.

    I get 8 1/2 minute miles outside, about 7 minute mile inside when i push.
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
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    treadmills are a last resort for me in the dead of winter when its icy out and i never care or track the speed because it is such a bad representative of how fast. outside onthe pavement is the true test of speed. my best two mile army test run time was 13:12. i would not worry about run times on the mill. i use it for hill workouts
  • RhiannonBaugh
    RhiannonBaugh Posts: 45 Member
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    I'm training for the Royal Navy so I have to do a mile and a half on a treadmill and outside
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
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    to increase our 5k race times we do alot of interval sprints. go all out for 1/4 of a mile. rest. repeat. some weeks half mile repeats. the long runs are ok but if you are wanting speed on the 1.5 i would focus more on shorter, faster runs. do 1 long run a week to keep endurance but work on more speed. 1 i like is run hard for 2 min. walk one. repeat ten times. each time increase the run hard by 5-10 seconds
  • badbcatha05
    badbcatha05 Posts: 200 Member
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    I'm training for the Royal Navy so I have to do a mile and a half on a treadmill and outside

    What are your required times? Are you in now or trying to qualify?

    I would be more concerned with bringing your outside time down, so do more of your runs outside- the treadmill you can just "set it and forget it."

    Keep working your long runs. When I had a mile and a half requirement (ugh- many many years ago now) we didn't really do anything involving dedicated speedwork. We just ran, as we got in better shape, the distances got farther and we got faster because our endurance was better over longer distances.

    It won't hurt you to try increasing your long run distance a bit. We only had 2 days a week that were dedicated to running. Granted, there were times when our schedules were tightened to the point we had to run everywhere we went. Our other two days a week were cardio based body weight calisthenics. In three months of that, my time dropped from somewhere around 14:50 to 10:20.

    How long do you have to get to the times you want?
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    I'm training for the Royal Navy so I have to do a mile and a half on a treadmill and outside

    OK, so your Recruit Test is on a treadmill, but your RNFT is on tarmac. Personally I would suggest that you focus on your outdoor running and get to the standard that you require for the in-service RNFT, that way you'll pass the RT easily.

    fwiw when you're in training you want to be smashing the target as it gives you decent space to not have to concern yourself with having to do remedial PT,

    With that in mind, you're already running your longer runs to a distance that you can build on. To improve your speed on the RNFT I'd suggest that you stop testing yourself four times per week, and start putting in training runs instead.

    To prepare for new entry training, at either Dartmouth or Raleigh, work on your running time, and the speed for the test will come.

    One or two long runs of 10K, one shorter run of about 5 K at a more rapid pace, and one session of sprint intervals per week.

    The tempo run and interval run will help your speed, the longer run will build your capacity for training. Do all of those outside, as you'll never use a treadmill in training, so it's not helping you. If you can do the times outside you can smash them on a treadmill.

    For my tempos I'll warm up for 10 minutes, then pick up the pace for 25-30 minutes, and cool down again for 10. If you put your current metrics into the Macmillan running calculator, https://www.mcmillanrunning.com/, that'll give you the paces to aim for.

    fwiw I've been in now for 23 years, my mile and a half time is 11:54, which is well below my target time.
  • DWBalboa
    DWBalboa Posts: 37,259 Member
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    Hi everyone! :)

    So I'll start with my run times. On the treadmill I run a mile and a half in 11.30 using a speed 12, 12.5 and 14 and my outside runtime quickest I've timed so far is 13.35.

    I really want to get my treadmill time down by 40 seconds and I really want my outside time under 10.30mins.

    I run outside 5 times a week, 3 long runs (over 5 miles) and 2 mile and a half timed runs in the evening and i go on the treadmill 3 times a week in the morning to try a timed run. So I was just wondering what other people's run times are so far :) and what speeds you use on the treadmill, any tips, etc.

    Thanks in advance guys ????


    What do you feel is holding you back from running faster? Is it muscle fatigue, your breathing or both? For me as long as I can get my breathing right I can run for hours.
    You can try doing sprint interval training or suicides; you set cones (or markers) up at even intervals. I run this drill for both my soccer and baseball teams that I coach; I usually set 4 cones at 3-5 meters apart for each column. Just google it you’ll figure it out, if not hit me up and I’ll go into more detail.
    You can also do plyometric exercises and hill sprints to help you increase you speed.
    Also, do breathing exercises to help you with your breathing when you run.
    Good luck
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
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    I'm training for the Royal Navy so I have to do a mile and a half on a treadmill and outside

    OK, so your Recruit Test is on a treadmill, but your RNFT is on tarmac. Personally I would suggest that you focus on your outdoor running and get to the standard that you require for the in-service RNFT, that way you'll pass the RT easily.

    fwiw when you're in training you want to be smashing the target as it gives you decent space to not have to concern yourself with having to do remedial PT,

    With that in mind, you're already running your longer runs to a distance that you can build on. To improve your speed on the RNFT I'd suggest that you stop testing yourself four times per week, and start putting in training runs instead.

    To prepare for new entry training, at either Dartmouth or Raleigh, work on your running time, and the speed for the test will come.

    One or two long runs of 10K, one shorter run of about 5 K at a more rapid pace, and one session of sprint intervals per week.

    The tempo run and interval run will help your speed, the longer run will build your capacity for training. Do all of those outside, as you'll never use a treadmill in training, so it's not helping you. If you can do the times outside you can smash them on a treadmill.

    For my tempos I'll warm up for 10 minutes, then pick up the pace for 25-30 minutes, and cool down again for 10. If you put your current metrics into the Macmillan running calculator, https://www.mcmillanrunning.com/, that'll give you the paces to aim for.

    fwiw I've been in now for 23 years, my mile and a half time is 11:54, which is well below my target time.

    I would pretty much do what this person states.

    Dont test yourself all the time, and maybe less long runs but extend those long runs out and I would ditch most of the treadmill workouts.

    One thing I would add is see if there are any local 5k;s you can get run in. Nothing gets you ready better for a PT test run than actually running in races! You get to feel the adrenaline and the excitement/nervousness and it will teach you how to pace yourself. When you take the PT test you will be with alot of other people and inevitably there will be so many faster people. I see it at every PT test that a number of people start out way too fast. You can wipe yourself out early on and kill your run.

    Goodluck
  • HarryFatter
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    Personally I would suggest that you focus on your outdoor running and get to the standard that you require for the in-service RNFT, that way you'll pass the RT easily.

    +1

    I recently compared my indoor (treadmill) and outdoor run times and I was very surprised to learn that I actually run faster and farther outside than on a treadmill. I'm not sure why though -- could be because outside I can pound the ground as hard as I could or the beautiful scenery outside.

    Good luck!
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
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    Personally I would suggest that you focus on your outdoor running and get to the standard that you require for the in-service RNFT, that way you'll pass the RT easily.

    +1

    I recently compared my indoor (treadmill) and outdoor run times and I was very surprised to learn that I actually run faster and farther outside than on a treadmill. I'm not sure why though -- could be because outside I can pound the ground as hard as I could or the beautiful scenery outside.

    Good luck!

    I have never trusted really what a treadmill tells me to be honest! I rather rely on a stopwatch at a known distance or better yet my GPS watch!
  • vha2
    vha2 Posts: 64 Member
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    does forever count? I am such a bad runner/jogger lol

    plus i have to stop often and wait on my beagle mix who is off sniffing everything.....

    I would say with out my dog my mile time is around 13:30

    pathetic i know, never een ch of a "runner"

    Don't I know it.. all through high school I'd walk the cross countries, I've never been athletic or into sport or anything. Now my dog makes me run - but he also makes me stop in the middle of it! You win some, you lose some! ;)
  • Pelamblue
    Pelamblue Posts: 177 Member
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    Hi, I was in the royal engineers, and found the best thing for my mile and half time was interval training and hill sprints. Minute on minute off for about 10 minutes.
    Your fitness will grow far far quicker and ypur times will come down drastically as a result. Very hard, but then again you are joining the best forces in the world.
    Good luck pal
  • Pelamblue
    Pelamblue Posts: 177 Member
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    Which is pretty much what interval training is. High intensity with short rest periods
  • katew221
    katew221 Posts: 82 Member
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    I run 1.87 miles (it's a round circuit from my house, not just a really random point where I decide I'm done! Haha) in 25 minutes. I have been running for nearly 18 months and when I started it took me 15 mins to run LESS than one mile. We all have to start somewhere. Although compared to most I know my time is still veeeery slow, to me it's a huge achievement. My best tip would be to beat yourself, not any one else :smile: just keep getting out there! And I too prefer to run in the great outdoors, it just feels more satisfying and tough :smiley:
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
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    OP posted in May; great site for VO2 info but I think they have departed 'the thread building' :)
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
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    Hi everyone! :)

    So I'll start with my run times. On the treadmill I run a mile and a half in 11.30 using a speed 12, 12.5 and 14 and my outside runtime quickest I've timed so far is 13.35.

    I really want to get my treadmill time down by 40 seconds and I really want my outside time under 10.30mins.

    I run outside 5 times a week, 3 long runs (over 5 miles) and 2 mile and a half timed runs in the evening and i go on the treadmill 3 times a week in the morning to try a timed run. So I was just wondering what other people's run times are so far :) and what speeds you use on the treadmill, any tips, etc.

    Thanks in advance guys ????

    You're going to need to run a 7:00 mile to hit your goal. That's clicking along pretty fast. How do you get faster? Run more miles and not necessarily at that pace.