I need to be able to run 3 miles in 24 minutes. I can currently run it in 29 min 30 sec. I just starting running recently. What are some ways I can improve this. I have 3 weeks to do so if possible.Thanks
Greg
Greg: This is a little off topic…and FORGIVE me if it causes your thread to be hi-jacked (I think you’ll get an answer though!), but I JUST saw “Full Metal Jacket” for the umpteenth time! I know the Corps HATED it when it came out (at least officially) and I know a lot has changed since 1967, but the movie is a cult classic! Semper Fi…and good luck in school! (P.S. I THINK the key to your problem is threshold/interval training, but this is FAR from my “expertise” (if I even have any!)).
Mufasa hit it right – interval training. You need to do 2 things: overdistance work, where you run farther than your test distance but not concerned with pace; and faster interval work, in the 1/2 to 1 mile range. You need to average 8 minute miles? Run your intervals at 7:30 pace or slightly faster, and total close to your test distance. That way, you get a feel for the faster pace, and your needed test pace will feel easier. Only do the intervals 2 times per week, and the other days do the overdistance. Strides uphill can help lengthen your stride (pushing power). You’ve really got your work cut out for you to trim over 5 minutes in 3 weeks. Good luck.
hi Greg, i definitely agree with Mufasa and brider on the training, but one thing you should also consider is your running form. i spent 8 years in the army, both active and reserve, and almost noone knew how to run properly. i’d have to see you run to say for certain, but given your current time, you could probably shave a few minutes by just fixing your form.
anyway, a couple of tips: 1) never let your heels touch the ground. if you're running in a heel-toe fashion, you're just killing your momentum with each stride. i blame the running shoe industry for this all too common problem. humans were built to run barefoot. 2) keep everything moving in plane with the direction your running. this mostly goes for your arms, but, amazingly enough, in some people it also goes for their legs. any lateral motion is just wasted energy, so the arms should only swing forward and back, not across the body. 3) RELAX!!! this may be the most important thing. any tension in your body is again wasted energy. don't clench your fists, keep your shoulders loose, etc.
finally, is the test on a track or on the road? if it’s on the road, don’t push it too hard going uphill, you won’t get much extra speed for your effort. going downhill, let gravity do all the work for you and haul ass. you’ll make up a ton of time with almost no increased effort.
hope this helps a bit, kick that run’s ass.
In cross-country we ran 3.5 mile courses for competition, yet we rarely ran that distance in practice, we did a lot of 5, 6 and 10 mile runs for about 40 miles a week. The key is like the others said to over train for your distance, this way your body is used to longer distances so you can push harder for 3 miles. Also for ALL your workouts, practice kicking the last 1/2 mile. Also you will drop some time during the actual run just because of the competition (fight or flight response).
-Al
Pretty much the same as above. Mix interval training [shorter distance at better than needed pace - 6 to 8 intervals of 1/2 mile each OR 3 to 4 intervals of 1 mile each] with long slow runs of 4 to 8 miles. Be sure to include off-days.
Day before actual run - eat lots of pasta and no running.
Day of race - light meal; nice easy short [!] jog to loosen up; toilet break; start the run at a slow pace cause you will be pumped up; hopefully there will be mile markers and you have a watch with a stopwatch function so you can gauge your pace during the run. GOOD LUCK
Mufasa, are you a teufelhunden too?
Rafeal – Agree with your 2 & 3, but definitely not with 1. For very fast middle distance runners, yes, they tend to be mid-foot strikers. But I think you’re asking for trouble (achiles tendonitis, plantar fascitis) trying to chenge to a forsefoot or midfoot strike if that isn’t your natural tendency, especially for longer distances. Remember, those fast guys are usually very light. This is T-mag, not Runnerrs World. This guy is probably carrying a bit more mass that the average emaciated runner.
hey there Greg. First off, congrats on your decision to be a leader of Marines. You’ve definetly got your work cut out for you. As far as the three mile run goes I’ve come across a very good workout that might help. I can also forward you some more info on this topic if you’d like.
you’re not supposed to let your heel touch on long distance? man i thought that was only on sprints.
brider – you may be correct on that, i’m certainly not a physiologist. i first read about it in Runner’s World more than a decade ago, so i could be saying something completely outdated. here’s my logic, but please correct me where i’m wrong or where i’m confusing things. first, you’re definitely correct about asking for trouble by changing your natural (or habitual) stride immediately and continuing with the same distances/workouts. also, three weeks isn’t long enough to really work back up, i should have thought about that. with that being said, i still have to advocate a catpawing type motion with the ankle for anyone, regardless of size (“never letting the heel hit the ground” probably wasn’t the best way to describe it). it seems to me that running heel-toe effectively eliminates one of the body’s natural shock absorbers, so a bigger person would benefit even more than a smaller person by changing their stride (i wouldn’t want to jump off my desk and land flat-footed). granted, it puts a lot of the load on the calves, but that’s where it’ll take some time to develop. also, the force of every impact of the heel with the ground is directed backwards, slowing the person down.
anyway, that’s my thinking. let me know if you (or anyone else) disagree. i’d hate for anyone to hurt themselves due to some bad advice from me.
Thanks everyone for the input it is appreciated greatly.
To John Rocha if you could forward me that workout at would be great.
NO E-MAIL ADDRESSES ALLOWED. WILL HAVE TO POST THE WORKOUT HERE. - MOD
Actually, I think I read the same article (or something similar that was probably earlier). From what I remember, it was something they noticed as a difference between slower runners being more plodders (heel strikers), and the fastest runners being more mid-foot strikers. Here’s the funny thing, though – as your pace increases to something near a very fast run, most people naturally move to a mid-foot strike (really, just the first point of contact, then the foot rolls to most of the foot contacting the ground). Trying to do that at 8:00 mile pace would be pretty taxing. You’re thinking of something more into the 5:00 pace or so. Actually, the heel-toe foot roll is a very efficient shock absorbing mechanism. The roll happens very quickly, however, and basically brings the contact patch with the ground under the body. If you’re experiencing a lot of shock at foot strike, or the force tends to be directed significantly backwards (slowing you down), then there’s probably something else going on with your stride. Uphill running can help with that. Arthur Lydiard (Aussie coach in the '70’s) used to have people run uphill in the dark to correct these problems – for some reason when they couldn’t see their feet, their stride just corrected itself naturally. Hope that helps.
Ahhh…the “Devil Dogs” of Belleau Wood…3 weeks of unrelenting attack and counterattack that gave new meaning to the term “Killing Fields”. A battle in which one of the most famous lines attributed to War was uttered by Gunnery Sgt. Dan Daly “Come on, 'ya sons-of-bitches; 'ya wanna live FOREVER!!!” The Germans called these half insane/crazy for sure/“scare-the-bajesus-outtya” when these jarheads stormed a position with a direct bayonet assault, “teufelhundren” or “Devil Dogs”. It’s stuck since 1918. Most of those Marines never made it out of those wheat fields…
good training advice for the most part. one more for you - drop the bodyfat. any extra weight you carry will just make it that much more difficult.
props to Stew Smith, retired SEAL LT., who now works with prospective SEAL candidates. Here you go:
The Four mile track workout has worked for many military and short distance runners for years. This workout is basically interval training. Interval training means you run at a certain pace for a particular distance then increase the pace for a certain distance. The Four mile track workout is broken into 1/4 mile sprints and jogs and 1/8 mile sprints and jogs for a total of four miles. The workout goes as follows:
4 Mile Track Work
Jog - 1 mile in 7:00 - 8:00
Three sets of:
Sprint-1/4 mile in
Jog - 1/4 mile in 1:45
Six sets of:
Sprint-1/8 mile
Jog - 1/8 mile 1:00
Do this workout without walking to rest. The only rest you will receive is during your slower jogging pace. Try to catch your breath while you jog. Have fun with this one it is tough.
Another good speed workout is called REPEATS. Simply run a certain distance as fast as you can a specified number of times. This time you get to walk to recover and catch your breath before the next sprint. You can try one of the following distances for a challenging workout:
MILE REPEATS - 1 mile x 3-4 (walk 1/2 mile in between) = 3-4 miles
1/2 MILE REPEATS - 1/2 mile x 6 (walk 1/4 mile in between) = 3 miles
1/4 MILE REPEATS - 1/4 mile repeats x 12 (walk 1/8 mile in between) = 3 miles
1/8 MILE REPEATS - 1/8 mile repeat x 16 (walk 100 yds in between) = 2 miles
That 4-mile workout sounds a bit like the old Oregon 30-40 drill. If I remember right, Bill Bowerman was the one who started this one, and Steve Prefontaine holds the record. Here’s how it goes: after a good warmup, you do a continuous run on a quarter mile track, the first half lap in 30 seconds, then you recover on the second half lap at 40 seconds (remember, these were world class runners). I think Steve made something like 9 laps before falling off pace. That was a guy who knew how to ignore pain.
Aren’t these guys GREAT, Greg? Great info…and the thread didn’t get “hijacked” (I was REALLY worried that my rantings about the Corps would cause that). Anyway…good luck at OCS, and keep us all updated…
Yes these guys are great! I will let you guys know how I do. I will be posting more in the future. I have been a faithful reader since this site started and will continue too as long as possible.
Thanks again!
Greg
I thought you had 6 months to get ready?!