How does one run 2 Miles in 13 Minutes?

Question

I have been training and have been getting results. How much training should I do in one day? How long will it take for me to reach the peak of conditioning, 1 Month?

Answer 1

This is really going to depend on where you currently are.  I suggest jogging 1.5 - 2 miles or more a day if you can.  It honestly will not take too long if you stick with it.

When I was in basic training; we had guys that couldn't run  half a mile without walking.  Within 4 weeks all of them were able to pull 1.5 miles within 12 mins; well...all but two.

Answer 2

That is a very generous timeframe! :-)

Actually, you will be surprised how much improvement you will continue to make even 6 months to a year later.  "Peak" conditioning probably won't happen in 4 weeks.

The best advice I can give you is just to run.  That sounds stupid, but it sounds so easy people ignore it.  They think if they run twice a week they will get all the improvement they can within that time.  WRONG.  Barring injury or shin splints, you should run EVERY DAY.

Start out running a mile a day and work up to 3 miles a day.  You will need to carve a good chunk of time out of your schedule for running but don't let it slide - you really have to be devoted to see serious improvement.

Starting today, time yourself running 2 miles.  You need a benchmark because you will forget how long it took when you started.  Then by running EVERY DAY you will see minutes shaved off of your time.  Write your times down every time you run and take note of things that affect your time - like maybe you have better times running in the morning instead of the evening or you have better endurance if you've eaten a lot of carbs that day.  Note everything, including muscle pain and heart rate.

Once you get closer to your goal, the improvements in your time will be smaller (you'll be shaving seconds instead of minutes) but, as you know, every second counts in track.  At that point, start doing a little something extra like cycling, swimming, or weightlifting.  By strengthening different muscle groups than you usually use by running, you will see improvements in your running time!  It's strange, but it WORKS.

Make sure you have really good running shoes and change them out frequently if you do run every day.  The cushion gets worn down and less bouncy and could lead to shin splints.

So get out there and run - EVERY DAY - and those times will just drop like a stone.  Good Luck!

:-)

Answer 3

You just need to train.

I used to be in quite mediocre shape (weight and fat % were perfect but I wasn't very involved in sports). Then after about 2 months of running almost every day, sometimes twice a day, I ran a little over 2 miles in 13 minutes.