How much can I improve mile time?

Question

I am 33 years old. I had a baby 8 months ago. I enjoyed running in HS, but my fastest mile time was 7 min flat. 6 months ago I ran a timed mile at 9:17. Today I ran a timed mile at 8:14. I have been running 3 times a week; mostly short runs with some small hills and a long run on weekends (6~ miles). How much should I train (and is it possible) for me to get back to my PR (or beat it?). Even if I started seriously training how much improvement would be realistic over what period of time (e.g. could I drop another minute off my time in another six months?)

Answer 1

As far as dropping your time from the point you are now it's just all about how much you want it and how hard you go at it. The biggest thing to do when you feel like you hit a plateu in running is to realize the biggest thing you have to overcome in running any type of distance is the mental part of it. Though your mind may be telling you to shut your body down due to fatigue, fact is you may have a lot more in the tank than you think......If you are very serious the best thing for you is to train i would say at least 4 to 5 times a week. Give your body two days of rest, but don't fall into a routine...shake up your runs. Do long distance, ala 6 miles, one day or two days in a row, then go to 10 to 12 times trials at 400 or 800 meters. You do things like this to prevent from platueing and you are also hitting your fast twitch muscles, as well as your slow twitch muscles. A great workout plan covers all grounds. As far as how much you could improve over a certain period of time, again that is all in how much you want it for you but realistically if you ran a 7 flat in high school that is an attainable goal within 2 months, probably shorter if you push yourself to do so. given where you are now. Other than that another big thing about distance running is what you are putting into your body...you want a lot of protein, potassium, vitamin C and vitamin B12 def, as well as you want to make sure you are hydrating, especially with the middle of the summer approaching. at least a gallon of non carbonated non caffinated beverages (gatorade, water, accelerade, powerade, juice ect.) and if you do let a soda slip you need to drink double the amout that was in that soda to restore your hydration. I would shoot for 1 1/2 of liquids a day though given the time of the year. Just some running tips, make sure you are standing tall when you run , if you are leaning you are doing less with more energy, and also make a conscious effort to take longer strides. You are then making up more distance with less energy. It takes more energy to take small steps with a quick turnover, than it does to take longer strides with a little longer of a turnover...but don't take too long of a stride so find a happy medium. Combine all these things and just look every week to try and drop 8-12 seconds off your mile time. I would say do a hard timed mile trial every 10-14 days, and when you do do mile splits...what i mean by that is run a hard timed mile...take a break for 3-5 minutes and run another timed mile, then repeat three or four times....this vastly can improve your mile time but the key is to work on some power in your legs, ala short distances and quick bursts, as well as your endurance, ala fast jog longer distace. good luck, hope i helped!