Posted on Jan 17, 2019
I’m leaving for BCT on March 11. I’m getting nervous about the run. Long story short I’m too slow. Does anyone have some tips?
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My recruiter has told me to do 60 second sprints 120 second jog. Is there anything else I can do to get as good as I can before I leave?
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 12
It seems counter-intuitive, but to build up speed it helps to run a bit slower and to increase distance. Don't focus on the sprints right now, but just focus on easy runs and increasing your total mileage every week. It doesn't matter how fast your 60 second sprints are if you cannot maintain a fast pace like that over two miles because you don't have the endurance needed for that pace. The basic idea is that if you can manage 75% effort over 60+ minutes while running at a slow pace, you can then give a better 100% effort over the 2 miles for your test.
I don't know what your baseline mileage is right now, but a good program can look something like:
MWF 3 miles, 1st Saturday 5 miles, 2nd Saturday 6 miles, 3rd Saturday 7 miles.
Halfway through February bump your MWF runs up to 4 miles and maybe stop at 8 miles for Saturday. Now would be a good time to do a trial timed run to see where you are standing. And with more endurance, now may also be a good time to look into doing some speed work if needed.
tl;dr
If you can run slower for longer, you will get faster over shorter distance.
I don't know what your baseline mileage is right now, but a good program can look something like:
MWF 3 miles, 1st Saturday 5 miles, 2nd Saturday 6 miles, 3rd Saturday 7 miles.
Halfway through February bump your MWF runs up to 4 miles and maybe stop at 8 miles for Saturday. Now would be a good time to do a trial timed run to see where you are standing. And with more endurance, now may also be a good time to look into doing some speed work if needed.
tl;dr
If you can run slower for longer, you will get faster over shorter distance.
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60/120s are garbage, intervals are better.
The Fuhrman Institute for running has a first 5k 12 week running plan that has 3 runs a week. You'll absolutely drop 1-2 minutes off your 2 mile time.
The Fuhrman Institute for running has a first 5k 12 week running plan that has 3 runs a week. You'll absolutely drop 1-2 minutes off your 2 mile time.
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