Im 16 years old. my mile time is 5:05 and i have a month and a half to get to as close to 4:30 as possible. Im willing to work as hard no matter what the pain cuz in june 25 i leave to compete in australia and i want to be in as best shape as possible. Track season just ended and i need someone to help me and give me workouts or advice to achieve my goal.
Impossible, sorry.
The fastest way to cut down your time (if you're stupid enough to try) would be to do LOTS, and I mean LOTS of 600m intervals, and a very fast pace.
Think 3 times a week. Think 6-8 reps, with maybe 2 minutes rest in between.
Also do a tempo run each week. Also do an easy long-ish run (maybe 8 miles) each week.
Taper for a good week before the race.
Guaranteed injury, possible stress fracture, but your time will drop by 10 seconds or more guaranteed after 1 month (if you're not injured).
Forgot to mention:
-you can replace one of the 600m days with 10 or 15x400m. I would do 20 but at your time range that is too much for you.
-drink protein shakes after each run. Running at near race pace (or even faster) will devastate your muscles and you will need to be drinking protein shakes within 15 minutes of each workout (even before you do your cooldown) to ensure best recovery.
Ice your legs immediately after you are down showering. Or spray cold water on them for 10 minutes. And stretch constantly.
This is basically a crash course. I've done it, I've seen other people do it, and it almost always results in injury. I did something similar when I was coming back from injury (more intense than what I am recommending) but ended up with a state championship at the end.
my school offers a great sports med so do you think id be able to avoid injuries if i get leg massages or ice baths everyday after training?
do you think you can send me a formal workout schedule?
Sure - let me know your current mileage and brief description of the 400m and 800m interval workouts that you have done recently (number of reps and rest is all I need to know).
Your sports health center will help delay the injury, but sorry to say, the crash course you are contemplating embarking on is likely going to result in injury anyway since it's going to be done at a faster pace than you are physically ready for.
The basic premise is:
-too late to build base and aerobic fitness for a race 6 weeks later
-maximize your Vo2max and lactate threshold gains in 6 weeks
-maximize core and muscle strength
-avoid injury for 6 weeks
The setup:
-find a track
-find a gradual, shortish hill of around 300m in length, preferably grass
-buy a tub of the best whey protein you can find
-buy lots of Gatorade
-have stopwatch
The main workout:
1) start with 1K hobby jog warmup, focusing on your turnover
2) stretch and stretch well, adding dynamic stretches at the end like leg swings
3) do maybe 4 short strides and whatever other biomechanical drills you wish to add
4) Do 600m at faster than your mile pace (preferably your target pace). So think 67 seconds for each 400m so that leads you to about 100 seconds (1 minute 40) for each 600m rep. KICK IT HARD for the last 100m of each rep. This means each of your 600m reps should be completed at faster than your target goal pace.
5) Rest for 2, maybe 2:30 minutes.
6) Repeat at least 5 more times. Even if you feel your pace starts to fall off and you can't do them in 100 seconds, keep going and keep pushing until the end.
7) Drink protein shake, maybe eat a banana, drink water.
8) Cooldown jog of around 1 mile
9) Stretch then immediately ice
10) Go home and stretch some more
Sample Schedule:
Monday: Hobby jog for 4-8 miles
Tuesday: WORKOUT
Wednesday: Hobby jog for 4-8 miles
Thursday: WORKOUT
Friday: Hobby jog for 4-8 miles
Saturday: WORKOUT
Sunday: Hard tempo of 4 miles followed by Hobby jog of 3 or so miles
*at least 1, preferably 2 of the WORKOUTS will be done on the hill you have found. On the hills, run for 300m on the flat buildup to the hill and end with the last 300m running on the hill itself.
**at least one of your hobby jogging days should be 8 miles, to constitute your "long run"
Also:
-Do abs EVERYDAY until your abs are screaming in pain.
-Lift weights on days you are not doing a workout (M-W-F). Focus on arms, shoulders and chest. Bicep curls, tricep extensions, dips, rowing/pulling machine and the bench press should be good. Do a weight at which you can do 3 sets of 12 reps each. You are building strength and power.
Disclaimers:
-this is a crazy stupid plan and you will end up injured
-you will need to taper for 1 solid week before your race
-you can increase the number of reps to the 600m if you are feeling good
-this is a short term plan and you are not really building much aerobic fitness so your "base" will continue to stagnate and you will have to do some serious mileage to make up for the loss of aerobic fitness later on
there is no way this guy is gonna be able to do 6x600 at 1:40 thats crazyto think he is gonna come thru at 67 and hold that for 200 more meters. I ran 4:48/10:26 (mile/2mile) and i dont think i could do a couple of these. dont be discouraged if you cant do it kid. I'd run some 4s and 8s as well. I just ran 800 repeats all the time for the 2 mile in high school, so 4s and 6s withe some 800s sprinkled in would be good
Don't listen to FormerD1. The only thing that plan will guarantee is a frustration and a pulled hamstring. Ending your season with 4:30 or anything close is not a realistic goal for 6 weeks. Breaking 5 minutes, however, could be attainable.
Time to stick to basics. Keep mileage about the same as where you have had it, maybe increasing it by 5 miles a week. Have a decent long run of 8-10 miles once a week. Two interval workouts on the track at 5:00 race pace a week. The rest easy recovery runs at 7:30-8 min pace.
Example track sessions
6-8x400 @75's w/400 jog rest
12-14x200m @36's w/200 jog rest
8-10x300m @54's w/300 jog rest
Race often, if you can. Taper by 5-10 miles the week of the target race. You will more than likely break 5 if you are patient, get the work in, and pace your races well. Good luck.
Yours is a great, reasonable suggestion. But at most it will get him a 10 second bump in 6 weeks.
I think he was hoping for more. I gave him a "guts or glory" training program. Aside from that there's really nothing he can do in 6 weeks to have any meaningful improvement to his mile time.
Will he be happy settling in at 4:55? Because listening to you that's all he can really hope for. No offense, coach.
The goal of the workout is to go faster than he is physically capable of going (I think I mentioned that). So he will start out fast and die at the end of each 600m. That's the whole point. That's why I said "goal pace" not "currently capable" pace.
If he survives the workout, guess what? He'll be MUCH FASTER than he is right now, and that 1 week taper is going to be amazing and he will absolutely rock that race in 6 weeks. If he doesn't guess what? He was never going to run a 4:30 anyway, but at least he gave his all trying.
If I were you I wouldn't listen to FormerDI. He gives some of the worst advice I have ever seen on these boards. His plan will lead to injury, burnout, and slower race times.
I-n-j-u-r-y. There. Now you know you can spell it.
godspeedvvv wrote:
Im 16 years old. my mile time is 5:05 and i have a month and a half to get to as close to 4:30 as possible. Im willing to work as hard no matter what the pain cuz in june 25 i leave to compete in australia and i want to be in as best shape as possible. Track season just ended and i need someone to help me and give me workouts or advice to achieve my goal.
So, if you ran a 4:28 would that be seen as worse than running a 4:31?
godspeedvvv wrote:
my mile time is 5:05 and i have a month and a half to get to as close to 4:30 as possible.
So, if you ran a 4:28 would that be seen as worse than running a 4:31?
no sir a 4:28 would be even better
please tell me you didnt get this australian track thing in the mail
We do not know why you need to run 4:30 by June 25.
Isn't it that you DESIRE to run it soon after that in a time trial or race somewhere?
I understand what "Former D1" is trying to do, but that's what we see these days that is all too common. Not only could a schedule like that injure you, it could finish you as a runner! Believe me it happens. Perhaps there are a few people such as Former D1 that could survive such as schedule and actually improve. But there would not be many!
Remember that a long run of 10 miles or more will hit all of the energy systems including the ATP-PC system. Concentrate on being able to do those types of runs as your Aerobic Ability will determine your ultimate mile time.
It is crazy to think that you could go from 5:05 to 4:30 in six weeks. If it was possible why didn't you do it before? If you haven't done many long runs as I am suggesting, there is your weak link, but I would say getting under 5 minutes is an achievement no matter how you do it!
*Warm up well every day with a 1-2 mile jog, running drills, and strides.
*Build your long run beyond 10 miles
*Do one speed development day per week
(80 meter sprints, hill sprints, dynamic running drills, etc.)
*Avoid interval training, but if you feel you must do it, add it
on in a very slowly progressing fashion.
...Start with one day per week at 2 x 400s
...Start with one day per week at 2 x 800s
Coach your self to run fast and relaxed every day.
Run at many different speeds.
Timing any run is unnecessary, RUN by FEEL!!!
*Weight training is unnecessary if you have hills.
*Cool down with a 1-2 mile run and strides.
P.S. I know of coaches who have had a team at state for 20 straight years using a similar system to this. You might try running for minutes instead of miles. However I would not try to time repeats or better your daily runs.
You do not want to run your best race in practice, save that for the day of the big race.
Jed Clampett (I interview Olympians)
There is nothing gutsy about training like an fool. However, setting a PR and breaking 5 minutes at age 16 certainly is something to be proud of. Intervals at your current fitness get you there faster if you have limited time.
I don't know any runner in their right mind that would prescribe 6x600m repeats at 1:40 with 2 minutes rest to a 5:05 miler.
Things may have changed some since my high school days. However one could probably say that all kids know to run intervals. I'm betting that there are many who do not know that you can run 5 miles easy and have it benefit you!
Can a person improve his time faster running 10 x 200, 8 x 400, 4 x 800 type stuff? Probably, but it's a very limited way to train and you certainly do not want a kid to train that way during the off-season.
Without knowing what this kid has done in the recent past, I feel comfortable predicting that long runs will benefit him more...even for a one mile race than doing interval training!
I wish I had known that.