How can i drop20 seconds off my mile time?

Question

I run on the school distance team. I'm 5'4 and 116 lbs. Ive been running for 2 years with an average of 6 minute mile. Everyday I run 5-7 miles with a track work out 2x a week. I want to drop my mile time to a 540. Before meets I stretch alot and warm up. Drink plenty of water and I also eat energy foods like sunflower seeds and gronola bars. I'don't know where I'm going wrong. Can Anyone help me???

Answer 1

This sounds simple. If you want to run faster you have to train faster. If 5:40 is your goal then in practice run try to run 85 second quarters with a 100 meter jog, a quarter of the distance, in between. See how many you can do. Once you can do the 400's then move it up to 600's 800's.....etc. Good luck, given your height and weight you shouldn't have any problems.

Answer 2

I'm no track coach but it just seems you're doing way way too much overdistance.

When you do track workouts, do you also run the 5-7 miles the same day?

What is your track workout?

Without knowing what you're doing now, it's really hard to be specific.

Answer 3

How you can drop 20 seconds.....

Once people have started to enjoy running and have finished their first race, the first question they ask is, “How do I become a faster runner?” The answer is not easy, and surely it requires more than the few paragraphs of this article. That is why personal trainers and training programs exist. Still, a few factors are at the basis of increasing running speed. Everybody can work on them, even without spending the money for a personal trainer. In my experience these factors are: variety, “pain,” time and injury prevention.

Variety is the first key to keep your body improving.

Unless you are a brand new runner and are just getting familiar with the 3-4 times a week ½ hour jog/run (read: don't try to follow this article), you will need to change and adapt your workouts throughout the week and throughout your season. There is no formula that works for everybody. Our bodies are all different, we have different running backgrounds and we train for different races. [.....]

Answer 4

eat some spaghetti. funny as it is you need CARBS. Ditch the energy foods. personal opinion.

Answer 5

You're doing everything right but one thing: run faster.

Answer 6

you may need to give yourself more recovery time. you said you run everyday and that may be too much for you.  also try to only max out on speed once a week.  i'm not sure how competitve you are but if you just want to run 1 mile in 20 less seconds start with half mile sprints.  if its an average of 6 min miles than cut your goal distance in half and start with running that at a 6 min pace and work your way up.

Answer 7

I would recommend running up hill tracks to develop stronger muscles. Work on pacing yourself, run your first lap quite fast, slow down just slightly for second two laps holding constant speed, then run like whatever you have left the last lap. A good method of training is to run for two miles, starting out jogging for 20 sec, then running for 20 sec, then sprinting for 20 sec, and continue this process for about 2 miles or whatever you can endure. like i was saying earlier run up hill tracks since this develops better running muscles. And by the way dong run every day. NOT a good idea. Supposed to give your self at least one day of break per week maybe two with running 5-7 miles, or just run like 1 or 2 miles on a break day. But if you run that often your not giving yourself the oppurtunity to let the muscles repair themselves properly. Drink protein drinks before and after workouts since this provides instant energy to muscles and starts immediatly repairing them. But like I said earlier pacing yourself on track day is very very important. Talk to a coach about pacing yourself since this could cost you 10 or more seconds depending on how you run currently. Also if you don't have a nice pair of track shoes, this will definitely help since they are very light and have better traction. Not running shoes, but actual track shoes. ONLY use them on track since they dont have have as good of support and wear out quite rapidly. It also appears your training for the wrong type of running. You want a good mile time then dont train for 6-7 mile range competitions. Run 2-3 miles a few nights a week and maybe 6-7  once a week. But you do develop a different kind of muslce composition when you train for differently. I would recommend going to your local library where you will easily find a book training your for your best mile. Hey good luck man.