1.5 mile run time NEEDS HELP!

looking to cut about 2 min off my 1.5 mile run. Took a test today for the P.D. and did it in 14:00 need to do it in 12:20. It is on a indoor track and 29 laps =1.5 mi. I did good for the first 8-10 laps and then I just hit a brick wall, I ran out of steem untill the last 2 laps when I was able to find a little juice to sprint them out.
I run on a tredmill 4 days a week for 10 min most of the time at about 6-7mph. I do about 45 min of weight training on the days I run. I try to eat well but, it doesn't always happen that way. I'm not trying to bulk up, or look like a body bulider I just want to see if I can drop a few mins. off my time.
When I went through the academy 10 years ago the time I had was about the same but the I only had to do it in 14 min. Now trying to move to a different Dept. they are a little bit more hard on the P.T. Side of things. This if where I have always wanted to be so I need to pass it to move to the next step. Please help, I have 1 month to re-take it.

run faster

14:00 is a pretty poor time to be honest, on my annual CFT we have to do it 9:30 or under, i suggest you do some running outside, treadmills are crap for training for outdoor running. Start running 3 times per week, do 2 interval sessions and then a long run on the 3rd day. So run 2 minutes walk 2 minutes etc do this about 5 times to start with, on the longer run day run for about 3 miles, focus on keeping your endurance up.

If you must train inside, make sure there's at least a 2% incline on the treadmill... otherwise you're -- (for lack of a better phrase) -- wasting your time.

Similar to what Jippo said, I'd suggest practicing on the track you'll be testing on. On a typical quarter mile track, people say it helps to try and sprint a lap, walk a lap, sprint one, walk one, etc. After a week or two of that, sprint a lap and a half, walk a lap, sprint 1.5, walk 1... then back down to sprint 1, jog 1. Slowly working your way up to the point where you won't have a problem with a 'resting' jog pace and can concentrate on speed work. Endurance will come with that. :)


Also - 29 laps???? Wow. Small track. :eek:

Ok thanks every one, even the "Run Faster" I did not kow thats what I needed to do?
Yes I know that is a crapy time for the 1.5 but, Im not a runner, never have been, never will be! just need to pass this test. I avoid running like the plage, just not my thing. I would enjoy an hour sweating my B*lls off before I spend 5 min running.
Once again thanks for everyone's help I have to try again in 4 weeks

Three days a week might not be a bad place to start, but it sounds like you need to build some base before getting in some intervals. Normally building base requires that you run about 25% over your target mileage. Since yours is 1.5 miles, I would recommend going a little bit farther than that (maybe 3-5 miles).

For two training days out of the week run anything over three miles. Your pace should be pretty slow. In fact, dont really worry about how fast you are running, just make sure that you finish the distance without stopping.

On the third training day figure out the pace that you need to run in order to hit your target time and distance, and then run at that pace for as long as you can. When you can no longer hold that pace take a short break and then continue. On this day it is important that you get the mileage that you want to run at the pace that you want to run, no matter how many breaks you need to take. Keep doing this every week and your pace should pick up.

MON: Base - 3-5 miles at low HR
WED: Base - 3-5 miles at low HR
FRI: Pace Run - Target pace w/ breaks if necessary

I hope this helps. Good luck!

Run without the treadmill (track, road, etc.)

Buy some new shoes especially if they're more than a couple months old.

One a 4 week program, build up your intesity and distance for 3 weeks and then taper down that last week so you'll be fresh.

Do intervals (2 to 5 minutes at a time). For about half an hour. Really try to push yourself on those last couple of intervals.

Go for a long (45 minutes or longer) jog once.

Time trial every weekend.

Ice your feet and ankles to help with recovery (bucket of ice water).

quad work, sprints, interval training..

train for longer distances and shorter will be easier.

Interval Training with 400 and 800 yard runs...basically run 400 then walk fast paced 800 one day and do the exact opposite the next day run 800 and then walk fast paced 400.

Sprint straightaways and jog the turnarounds.

Don't run on treadmill!

Get some decent shoes!

Hey dude,

A couple things that helped me speed up was starting your normal pace then during parts of the run speed up1 to 2 mph till you can't handle it then slow back down. YOu'll start getting your VO2 Max/Lung capacity built up and you'll start being able to go longer on the speed parts of the run until you can do the whole thing that fast.

Another thing....if you are training for 1.5 miles, make your training runs for 2 to 2.5 miles, then when you do the 1.5 it'll seem like a breeze.

DK

[QUOTE=Love2Surf;351376601]Three days a week might not be a bad place to start, but it sounds like you need to build some base before getting in some intervals. Normally building base requires that you run about 25% over your target mileage. Since yours is 1.5 miles, I would recommend going a little bit farther than that (maybe 3-5 miles).

For two training days out of the week run anything over three miles. Your pace should be pretty slow. In fact, dont really worry about how fast you are running, just make sure that you finish the distance without stopping.

On the third training day figure out the pace that you need to run in order to hit your target time and distance, and then run at that pace for as long as you can. When you can no longer hold that pace take a short break and then continue. On this day it is important that you get the mileage that you want to run at the pace that you want to run, no matter how many breaks you need to take. Keep doing this every week and your pace should pick up.

MON: Base - 3-5 miles at low HR
WED: Base - 3-5 miles at low HR
FRI: Pace Run - Target pace w/ breaks if necessary

I hope this helps. Good luck![/QUOTE]

^^^This. One of the best things that helped me when I was in academy was just doing a slow pace for at least twice the distance. I was doing 3 mile runs in 30 mins. I got my 1.5 mile time down from 12:00 to just under 11:00. Good luck man.

[QUOTE=Jippo;351201861]14:00 is a pretty poor time to be honest, on my annual CFT we have to do it 9:30 or under[/QUOTE]

skeptical.

I would flunk it also! There is no way I could run 29 laps on a track! Good god that would suck! Try to run Neg. splits on your long runs ( run the second 1/2 faster than the first). This will help you to not blow your legs up off the bat and finish strong. The worst thing you can do is start out too fast and have to walk most of the distance. You need to stop thinking of running as punishment it can be a lot of fun when you get into it. You will never be able to run worth a flip if you try to avoid running!

[QUOTE=badboz;351196911]looking to cut about 2 min off my 1.5 mile run. Took a test today for the P.D. and did it in 14:00 need to do it in 12:20. It is on a indoor track and 29 laps =1.5 mi. I did good for the first 8-10 laps and then I just hit a brick wall, I ran out of steem untill the last 2 laps when I was able to find a little juice to sprint them out.
I run on a tredmill 4 days a week for 10 min most of the time at about 6-7mph. I do about 45 min of weight training on the days I run. I try to eat well but, it doesn't always happen that way. I'm not trying to bulk up, or look like a body bulider I just want to see if I can drop a few mins. off my time.
When I went through the academy 10 years ago the time I had was about the same but the I only had to do it in 14 min. Now trying to move to a different Dept. they are a little bit more hard on the P.T. Side of things. This if where I have always wanted to be so I need to pass it to move to the next step. Please help, I have 1 month to re-take it.[/QUOTE]

You only train 10 minutes and you wonder why you poop out after then minutes?

Train on the treadmill for 15 minutes and you will have plenty of steam left.

10 minutes is about 1 mile. If i were training for this I would right away start moving my training runs up to 1.5 and 2 miles. This will give you some more endurance.

Once you do this for a couple weeks then add in some speed.

I'm kind of in the same boat. I am going through the Police PT instructor school in about a month. Need to be able to do it in the 70% which equals to around 11:26 I think. I too despise running. What I started out doing was jogging at a good pace for as long as I could. (starting out it was 2-3 laps on 1/4 mi track) then I would walk at a good pace until I recovered enough to bust out another lap or so and so on and so on. I would make sure I always got at least 1.5 mi in even if some of it was walking. I'm not where I need to be yet but it is night and day compared to where I started from. Best of luck to ya.

running tips: I spent roughly 4 years running in highschool/college


go the distance:

your training for 1.5 miles. you need to be running a minimum of 3 miles a day ( in one run)

10 minutes on a treadmill a day is not all that much- do a minimum of 30 minutes


technique is everything: keep your chest broad and out, a major killer when running is rolling your shoulders in and looking down- this causes the body to gain LESS oxygen and you get run out of steam ( aka hit a brick wall)



heres a decent work out for you:


monday:

warmup laps
STRETCH
3 miles
warmdown laps
STRETCH

tuesday:
repeat monday


wednesday:
warm up laps
stretch
Run 10 laps
sprint 1 lap/walk 1 lap (repeat 3X)
run 5 laps
stretch
warm down laps

thursday:
repeat tuesday

friday:
repeat thursday


sat- off

sunday off



note: if you get pain in your shins #1 upgrade your shoes #2 ice them! no hot packs

also, every night before bed stretch out all of your leg muscles ( dont forget your glutes)

hope this helps.

[QUOTE=badboz;351196911]looking to cut about 2 min off my 1.5 mile run. Took a test today for the P.D. and did it in 14:00 need to do it in 12:20. It is on a indoor track and 29 laps =1.5 mi. I did good for the first 8-10 laps and then I just hit a brick wall, I ran out of steem untill the last 2 laps when I was able to find a little juice to sprint them out.
I run on a tredmill 4 days a week for 10 min most of the time at about 6-7mph. I do about 45 min of weight training on the days I run. I try to eat well but, it doesn't always happen that way. I'm not trying to bulk up, or look like a body bulider I just want to see if I can drop a few mins. off my time.
When I went through the academy 10 years ago the time I had was about the same but the I only had to do it in 14 min. Now trying to move to a different Dept. they are a little bit more hard on the P.T. Side of things. This if where I have always wanted to be so I need to pass it to move to the next step. Please help, I have 1 month to re-take it.[/QUOTE]

I had to run the 1.5 mile in 13:08 for the academy. When I first started preparing my time was 13mins. what i started doing is on my days i didn't weight lift I would go to the track, not the treadmill, and run the 1.5miles for time. it took me about 4 weeks running 2-3 times a week to bring my time down to 11:10ish. A lot of people recommend running longer than you need to test on but i found that actually running the 1.5 mile worked better for me because i was able to figure out how to pace myself correctly. sometimes on the third day of the week i would change it up a little bit and jog a lap then run a lap, then jog a lap, then run a lap ect.

So i guess my advice is just keeping running. Training on the track is a lot better than the treadmill.

edit: also after reading dchartier post, i would recommend stretching, especially your chins, a lot. nothing worse than having an injury going into the test.

[QUOTE=badboz;351196911].....looking to cut about 2 min off my 1.5 mile run. Took a test today for the P.D. and did it in 14:00 need to do it in 12:20. It is on a indoor track and 29 laps =1.5 mi. I did good for the first 8-10 laps and then I just hit a brick wall, I ran out of steem untill the last 2 laps when I was able to find a little juice to sprint them out.[/QUOTE]

I can't help but wonder if the track you ran on had anything to do with you gassing toward the end. While, being gassed in a time trial is normal (you're pushing yourself harder) the frequency of that track's radius could have played a part in it putting more stress on the inside leg (calf, quad, glute...etc.)
If you're going to be testing on a track like that you should train on a track with more frequent radius. Don't just train running the radius in one direction, switch it up so both of your legs have a chance to get burnt up on the inside. Even the 1/4 mile tracks burn you up bad (e.g. 1600 meter runs)

[QUOTE=badboz;351196911]looking to cut about 2 min off my 1.5 mile run. Took a test today for the P.D. and did it in 14:00 need to do it in 12:20. It is on a indoor track and 29 laps =1.5 mi. I did good for the first 8-10 laps and then I just hit a brick wall, I ran out of steem untill the last 2 laps when I was able to find a little juice to sprint them out.
I run on a tredmill 4 days a week for 10 min most of the time at about 6-7mph. I do about 45 min of weight training on the days I run. I try to eat well but, it doesn't always happen that way. I'm not trying to bulk up, or look like a body bulider I just want to see if I can drop a few mins. off my time.
When I went through the academy 10 years ago the time I had was about the same but the I only had to do it in 14 min. Now trying to move to a different Dept. they are a little bit more hard on the P.T. Side of things. This if where I have always wanted to be so I need to pass it to move to the next step. Please help, I have 1 month to re-take it.[/QUOTE]

Where is the Police Force you are applying to,how many metres is the track you run on

[QUOTE=gordon35;381734311]Where is the Police Force you are applying to,how many metres is the track you run on[/QUOTE]because you have to do so many laps to make 1.5 miles try running 5 to 8k to get distance at a slow pace,also do hill sprints for power
and interval trainig on the treadmill and rest

[url]http://www.runnersworld.com/[/url]

Diet is a huge influence on running, you'd be suprised how many people drop their 2 mile 3 or 4 minutes in basic training at such a low volume of prescribed running, its because the food isn't McDonald's grade, even though its not ideal. Watch your diet.

1. 10 minutes on a treadmill is a warmup, not a run.
2. do intervals. 400's and 800's will help your speed and endurance tremendously for a 1.5 mile run. do them as fast as you can with very little break in between. at least 1.5 miles worth. do warmup and cool downs on top of this. start with one or two interval days a week.
3. do "long runs" if you're training for a 1.5 mile run, your "long run" should be more than twice that.
4. 1 week out, cut everything back. drop the intervals and go for 4 or 5 long, easy (key word: easy) runs that week.
5. 1.5 mile is nothing. don't try to carb load or fuel up before it. eat normal.
6. when you run it, run it barefoot. seriously, the average person can shave close to a minute off of their mile time by simply taking off their shoes. you will be sore the next day but it will be worth it.

[QUOTE=badboz;351196911]looking to cut about 2 min off my 1.5 mile run. Took a test today for the P.D. and did it in 14:00 need to do it in 12:20. It is on a indoor track and 29 laps =1.5 mi. I did good for the first 8-10 laps and then I just hit a brick wall, I ran out of steem untill the last 2 laps when I was able to find a little juice to sprint them out.
I run on a tredmill 4 days a week for 10 min most of the time at about 6-7mph. I do about 45 min of weight training on the days I run. I try to eat well but, it doesn't always happen that way. I'm not trying to bulk up, or look like a body bulider I just want to see if I can drop a few mins. off my time.
When I went through the academy 10 years ago the time I had was about the same but the I only had to do it in 14 min. Now trying to move to a different Dept. they are a little bit more hard on the P.T. Side of things. This if where I have always wanted to be so I need to pass it to move to the next step. Please help, I have 1 month to re-take it.[/QUOTE]

Do some hardcore sprints, or just keep doing the 1.5 mile multiple times. I think my 1.5 is 13:10 or something unconditioned, but in wrestling it used to be 10:30. Also when your on the treadmill every 45 seconds you should up the speed to maybe 12mph.

Lol, people still posting advice for him a month after he's retaken his test already. Good advice in here none the less.

I prepared for the same test. what i did was run 4 times a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday i ran 1.5 miles for time. Sunday or Saturday i did HIIT for as long as i could last. i cut 3 mins off my 1.5 in about 2 months.