In need of Running Advice.

annokoye

Good Morning all MFP's,

First, I will start off by thanking all of you for your support. You all have provided so much information and assistance to me over the last month in my preparation for my Air Force Physical Fitness Test. I have really taken the advice given and work hard to get to where I am today. I am running the complete 1.5 mile without stopping.

This post is a request for all the advice possible on increasing my speed. I have already reduced my time by 2 minutes since June 30. However, I am due to test the last week of August and I still need to reduce my time more. With all of the comments; I recently received from you all I know that I am very capable of doing this. I can run 2 miles without stopping and really have strength to keep running; however, when I train for the fit test it makes me nervous because I know it is timed. So, I run much faster but during my 4th lap; I normally slow down too much to make my time.

Please provide me some good advice to reduce my time another 2 minutes. I know I can do it. My maximum HR for my age is 195 and yesterday while running my HR was on average 161 and maximum 178. Any advice on what I can do to reduce my time but not exceed maximum 185 HR. I really don't want to overdue it and have a horrible headache afterwards.

As, I stated in the beginning of this post "Thank you all for all of your support and encouragement". I realize that it is due to the encouragement; I 've received this far that I haven't given up but rather, I have continuously pushed myself harder.
If you are reading this post and have not previously read my post regarding running tips. Please see the below information:
I am a U.S. Air Force Reservist. I had a baby a year ago but shortly after giving birth to my daughter; I encountered several severe medical problems. I have been released by my Doctor to participate in physical fitness activities now and I am trying to get back into shape to pass the Fitness test. I took the test on June 2, 2012 and failed because my running time was not sufficient. Unfortunately with the test all members that are not on medical waivers are required to pass each portion of the test to receive a passing score. Failing the running portion hindered me from passing the entire test. Please note: I really would appreciate positive encouragement and advice only.

Thank you all for your expedient response. I do apologize if I wasn't clear on what I was asking Plates559.

My question is can you provide information on how to reduce run time. I would like to reduce my run time by 2 minutes. I have successfully reduced it by 2 minutes since 30 Jun. I will be tested the last week of August on my run time speed and I need to reduce my current run time by another 2 minutes.

Currently I run the 1.5 mile in 18:02 minutes. I run Mon, Tue, Thur, Frid, and Saturday or Sunday.
My rest day is Wednesday; however, this Wednesday, I did intervals as adviced by another MFP.
I did 30 minutes of intervals at 5.8 speed on the treadmill.

Hopefully this provides a little more information.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my post.
Have a wonderful day. {*_*}

Plates559

wow wall of text, could you summarize your question or highlight it?

cunfewzed1

Speed work and hill work will reduce your time greatly.

Speed work = set intervals with recovery in-between. For example, 30 seconds of all out sprinting followed by 2 minutes at a reasonable, jogging pace. Repeat 6-10 times. You can do this on a treadmill or on a track. I think that a track is more effective.

Hill work = basically the same thing, but on a hill. Find a hill that will take a minimum of 30 seconds to go up at a pretty good clip. Sprint up the hill and take 2-3 minutes to slowly jog back down and recover.

Now, these types of training take time, but you should see noticable improvement by the end of August. 2 mins? I dunno, that's a lot to chop off in such a short time....

Good luck!

maddymama

I don't know your running schedule, or what you are currently doing to train.

There are a few ways to increase speed in running. 1) Add distance. Instead of of running only two miles to train for the test, run 3 or 4 miles to build your endurance. Then you should be a bit speedier for the two mile run if you run farther over time.
2) Another option is to run intervals where you increase your speed within your run. So jog a slow 5 minute warm up, then sprint for 60 seconds and jog for 90, spring 60 jog 90, reapeat until you have run for 2-3 miles.
Personally, I would do a combination of the two above -- one regular run, one interval run, one distance run, etc. during the course of a week.
Good luck!

VanillaBone

Instead of running as fast as you can for the first 3/4, try to stretch out more. The longer your stride, the more ground you cover. If you're not sure how to do this, find someone who looks like a 'natural' runner and ask them to help you.

annokoye

Thank you all for your expedient response. I do apologize if I wasn't clear on what I was asking Plates559.

My question is can you provide information on how to reduce run time. I would like to reduce my run time by 2 minutes. I have successfully reduced it by 2 minutes since 30 Jun. I will be tested the last week of August on my run time speed and I need to reduce my current run time by another 2 minutes.

Currently I run the 1.5 mile in 18:02 minutes. I run Mon, Tue, Thur, Frid, and Saturday or Sunday.
My rest day is Wednesday; however, this Wednesday, I did intervals as adviced by another MFP.
I did 30 minutes of intervals at 5.8 speed on the treadmill.

Hopefully this provides a little more information.

alli_baba

Thank you all for your expedient response. I do apologize if I wasn't clear on what I was asking Plates559.

My question is can you provide information on how to reduce run time. I would like to reduce my run time by 2 minutes. I have successfully reduced it by 2 minutes since 30 Jun. I will be tested the last week of August on my run time speed and I need to reduce my current run time by another 2 minutes.

Currently I run the 1.5 mile in 18:02 minutes. I run Mon, Tue, Thur, Frid, and Saturday or Sunday.
My rest day is Wednesday; however, this Wednesday, I did intervals as adviced by another MFP.
I did 30 minutes of intervals at 5.8 speed on the treadmill.

Hopefully this provides a little more information.

How many miles do you run when you do run (your Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri, Sat, Sun runs)?

annokoye

I run throughout the week with a co-worker and we only do the 1.5 mile; however, on the weekend I run two miles.

Plates559

Thank you all for your expedient response. I do apologize if I wasn't clear on what I was asking Plates559.

My question is can you provide information on how to reduce run time. I would like to reduce my run time by 2 minutes. I have successfully reduced it by 2 minutes since 30 Jun. I will be tested the last week of August on my run time speed and I need to reduce my current run time by another 2 minutes.

Currently I run the 1.5 mile in 18:02 minutes. I run Mon, Tue, Thur, Frid, and Saturday or Sunday.
My rest day is Wednesday; however, this Wednesday, I did intervals as adviced by another MFP.
I did 30 minutes of intervals at 5.8 speed on the treadmill.

Hopefully this provides a little more information.

1. Lift weights for stronger legs/core
2. Take longer strides/improve running form
3. Do sprints, if you are hardcore do hill sprints
4. Be well rested before running
5. caffeine

Polly758

I used to run cross country, and the fastest run I ever finished was the one I started out fast and didn't slow down. If you're racing, competing, and especially if you're trying to pass a running test, you know what? Just be aware of your "comfortably fast" pace and hit it, from the start, and don't quit. It'll end, you just gotta pass the test. A lot of it is mental.

You still have a few weeks to train, intervals are probably best. Good luck.

alli_baba

I run throughout the week with a co-worker and we only do the 1.5 mile; however, on the weekend I run two miles.

Thanks -- that helps (and helps explain why you might be tiring out after your 4th lap on your fitness test).

If I were you, I would work on increasing the distance of your training runs. So, instead of going 1.5 miles 4-5 days a week, can you try to do 2 miles 3-4 days a week? Or move up to 2 miles for 2 days a week and 1.5 miles for the remaining 1-2 days. And keep building up until you can run 3 miles at least one of the days. (Increasing mileage while decreasing frequency can help you build up your cardio endurance while minimizing injury).

I guarantee you, if you can hit that 3 mile mark, you will be confident in your test run and will be much faster in your 1.5 mile run (probably no tiring in that final lap).

You can also work on speedwork like intervals, hills, etc., but I think you will get more bang for your buck if you can increase your mileage a bit.

Good luck!

annokoye

Polly,

I must agree that most of it is mental. I spoke with my brother who is a retired Marine and after speaking with him about Mind/Matter it really gave me a boost of confidence that I could do it. I did it when I was serving Active Duty and I can do it again. However, I am not sure if I am getting discouraged because I thought I would already be running it much faster or what. However, I will definitely try harder to keep the pace steady until I am done.

Thanks so much.

annokoye

Alli_baba,

Thank you so much. I really have been thinking of doing my 2 miles throughout the week as well but I wasn't sure if my co-worker would have wanted to join me. I also have such a hard time mentally not beating myself up when I don't time myself on just the 1.5 mile run. I am going to definitely do what you have suggested.

Thanks so much for your response.

brandyk77

Given the time constraints, any improvement before your test is really going to have to come from mental than physical. Running around a track isn't the easiest for most people (or laps of any kind). Try breaking the time you need up - total / laps and run THAT lap individually. Don't go out like a bat out of hell because you will crash and burn.

In the future, increasing your distance overall will probably give you the best return on investment. I would suggest 1 day a week of hill repeats but nothing more than that given your current running volume.

annokoye

Thanks brandyk77,

SelkieDiver

I agree with the others here. What should help is one day a week, you want to do a long run. Each week increase that run by 1/2 mile to 1 mile depending on how it feels. On these runs don't time yourself - these are to build the endurance you need for your timed run. Then 1-2 days a week, do speed work. Are you currently training on a track? If so, the speed work I've done there is like this: Jog 2 laps to warm up, then begin to sprint the straight-aways, and jog the curves.That jog needs to be slow enough that you can recover. Do this for 4 laps (= one mile) then jog around the track one time (longer recovery). Then do another 4 laps of the sprints/recovery and a recovery lap. 2 lap jog to cool down. If you are not on a track you can do the same thing based on time. Sprint for 30-40 seconds, recover for 1 minute. Rinse, repeat. One other thing that will help you bring down your time is if you have access to hills (or a treadmill with incline), run hill repeats.

Good luck! I think you can take another 2 off if you train smart and train hard.

annokoye

SelkieDiver,

Awesome, response. Thanks so much for explaining everything to me. Yes, I have been running on a track; however, since the majority of MFP's feel I should increase my distance; I am willing to do that starting today. So, for my distance runs; I shouldn't time myself just focus on endurance. That is going to be hard but I will try to make myself not look at my watch. So, I will be running a 2.5 mile trail. I know I can run distance it is just the timed runs that really worry me. On days that I run on the track I will most certainly try those intervals you mentioned.

Thanks so much for your advice. I am going to do this....

fairc3jam

Will they let you bring music? It will take the edge off and keep your mind off the test.

Don't run fast to start with, run at a good pace you can keep up consistently. Time yourself by lap and make sure you aren't more than 30 secs behind. I.e. 18min to do 1 1/2, aim for a 2:45 per lap.

Weight trang will help with stamina. Also eat enough carbs to help you thru.

Good luck!

5stringjeff

Run intervals to decrease your speed. Run longer distances to increase your endurance. Do both of those and by the time you take your PT test, 1.5 miles will seem like nothing!

scottb81

Please provide me some good advice to reduce my time another 2 minutes. I know I can do it. My maximum HR for my age is 195 and yesterday while running my HR was on average 161 and maximum 178. Any advice on what I can do to reduce my time but not exceed maximum 185 HR. I really don't want to overdue it and have a horrible headache afterwards.

You are running too easy for your timetrials (assuming your max heart rate is correct). For a 1.5 mile timed run your average heartrate should be up somewhere around 175 or higher. You should finish the run somewhere around your max HR. The run should hurt and feeling lightheaded or sick at the end is not out of the question.

Other than that, you just need to build more endurance so like others have said run longer runs in training.

GiddyupTim

If you wanna keep your heart rate down, you need to improve your aerobic capacity.
Do sprints.
Sprint a bit, then jog, then sprint a bit, then jog. You'll get there.

meerkat70

1. Lift weights for stronger legs/core
2. Take longer strides/improve running form
3. Do sprints, if you are hardcore do hill sprints
4. Be well rested before running
5. caffeine

2 and 3 increase dramatically your risk of injury.

If you're going to do 5, you want to a) ensure you test it before your timetrial, and b) cut right down on caffeine before the timetrial to ensure you get the best effect.

Apart from that, I'm a slow runner, so have little advice, and am just here to see what others suggest.

Best of luck!

CarsonRuns

Given the compressed time frame that you are working with, a lot of these suggestions aren't going to do you much good. Yes, for long term success, you need to run more miles and vary your training. But it takes time to develop more fitness and time is not something you have. Here is what I suggest.

1. Lose weight. This is something that you can maybe accelerate and drop 6 to maybe even 8 pounds before you have to run the time trial. This will give you the best benefit of anything else being suggested.

2. Practice running at the pace you need to run to reach the goal. Not faster, not slower. Go to the track and run a lap at the pace you need, then run one easy, run another at the pace you need, run another one easy. Get your body accustomed to running the pace that you need to to pass the test.

I think those two things are really the only things that will give you any benefit with approximately 4 weeks to go.

Be prepared to hurt. Short fast races/trials are not supposed to be pleasant. Good thing they don't last long.

flabulous4

First of all, good luck!
1) Do you have some sort of app on your phone which can track your speed?
2) You said that you start out fast and then slow down on the 4th lap.Maybe try starting a little slower (not much) and trying to keep your pace up - and even go for it on the last lap!
3) I second CarsonRuns - if you're running hard it will hurt, you may feel a little uncomfortable. But headaches go away!
edit 4) (I knew there was something else) Drink plenty of water and have something like a banana or a slice of toast beforehand so you're fuelled up and ready to go.