What are some tips for a runner who needs to shave time of of her mile time?

Question

I am a really slow runner. I have been running for almost a year and I was wondering what a resonable goal would be to get my time down. I run a mile in 8 minutes flat. every lap is 2 minutes long. should i make my goal down to 1 minute 30 seconds or is that to big of a goal to start out at?? PLEASE HELP!!

Answer 1

well in practice when my team is tried they run that time... so the best thing to do is train...

Go all out at ur average speed then see how far that takes u....

Then Estimate ur speed out in the mile...

For example.. : I like running 800s My plan: 1st 400 take it at my middle speed then 200 meters to the end I kick up to max...I usually do good like 2nd 3nd 1 time 1st....

The thing is in the being of the races ur body has a lot of stamina and if u burn it all out in the being its going to affect ur time... The Ending increase ur time by a lot so don't burn every thing in the being...

My advice:

Take its slow 1st 2... Then start to increase....when u near to the3 lap... 100 meter to the end kick it up... u will blow a lot of people out...

Answer 2

tilt your head down and lean forward, that seems to make me go faster. also work on your breathing. try to breathe through your nose and out of your mouth.

Answer 3

qet your breathing down. then work on your endurance. work on you 800m time. try to pick that time up. then work on you 1600m time. try doing mile repeats and neg. split each one.

hope it helps

Answer 4

You can't make that your goal now! You don't go from an 8 minute mile to a 6 minute mile. Your goal should be 7:40, or somewhere near there.

***EDIT***

-Do NOT listen to the first poster! How can you go fast breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth?? That's bogas! I run a 5:30 minute mile, and I couldn't do that without breathing in and out through my mouth very fast.

-And about the 2nd poster - never take advice from someone who is out of shape, they don't know what they're talking about. The key is learning to pace yourself, not jogging and then sprinting.

Answer 5

Im out of shape and I run it in 7 minutes. One minute and thirty seconds is an impossible goal. The best way to shave time is to start at a steady pace. When you near the finish, sprint as fast as you can. If you run fast to start with, you'll get tired too fast and then you realize you're only half done.

Answer 6

Try running 4X400s a little faster then your actual race pace. Also take long runs of 3 miles once a week that will help you. Another tip is to run an 800 as fast you can then try to keep that up for another two long laps. It's not that hard to cut back time on a mile.

Answer 7

breathe in through your mouth and out through your mouth you need to supply your muscles with oxygen and you cant get enough in through your nose, do some interval work working on strength and speed

Answer 8

There are 2 things that you need to work on... first is your base, meaning long distance. I am assuming that you are practicing on your own so when you practice you need to run for longer distances for a greater amount of time, start out with a couple miles and work your way up, or run around your neighborhood for 45 minutes (around there if you can't go that long, go as long as you can.) Than you need to work on your speed. Start by running a lap (on a normal track) as fast as you can then lightly jog half a lap (if you need to jog a full lap) then run as fast as you can for another lap and then jog and do this over and over again for at least a mile but try to do more. You should do an every other day system, one day do the distance then the next day do the speed workout out. After time your mile time should increase, but remember you should push yourself as hard as you can when you run the mile for a time, you might be able to run faster, but your body might just be stuck in that groove of the 8 min. mile......good luck and remember to drink a lot of fluids(water or gatorade etc..) and to warm up and stretch before you run.....