I need suggestions for quick improvements for the mile

I am also a girl, to clarify.

If you have a week to spare.

1. Run a long run farther than you ever have before.

2. Do a LOT of crunches/core work.

3. Run some hills hard. But not within 4 days of the meet.

4. Make the mileage for the week higher than any other week you have done.

5. Get 8+ hours of sleep everyday of the week. 9 hours the day prior to the meet.

6. Run HARD during the race. It SHOULD hurt on the first lap if you're running to your potential.

I run a long run of about 9 miles once a week, and 7 twice a week. Workouts are twice a week and an easy day before the race. We also do abs/ pushups every other day. I do have a lack of sleep though, averaging about 5hrs a night. I have a problem with pacing. Because of my sprinting background, it's nearly impossible for me to pace myself (I always end up pacing off other people). When i ran the 5:32, I went out in 68 for the first lap.

What is your longest run ever? And you NEED sleep to run fast! Get off the internet and go to sleep!

Longest run ever was 13 miles

5 hours a day? so you are going to bed at something like 1am and waking up at like 6am, everyday, even on the weekends?

Your training is decent but you should sleep more. When you run your race, definitely go out slower, right behind someone you know who wont go out much faster than 68.

It sounds like you are set up to run a really good PR if you can pace yourself and just get more rest leading up to the race.

Yes, 5 hours a night. Thanks, I'll try to find someone who will go out at a reasonable pace and i'll work on sleeping more.

Drink a cup of coffee 1 hour before your race

I don't drink caffeine because I have a virus that effects many things, including my heart.

hey, i ran the 800 the other day in about 2:30, but i am a pure distance runner, but for the mile, i would really work on pumping your arms harder than you think you should, and if anything go out slower, because you can always get faster.

if it helps write out your 200 meter splits and have a coach/parent call the out to you, and 2 days before the meet do some maybe 200m. strides at race pace, maybe 2 or 3 of them. also have a good breakfast and you wanna kick it really hard the last 200 meters:)

and i wouldnt worry to much about pacing because its only 51/2 minutes. once you get to about 8 or 9 is when you need to start pacingg!

hope i helped:)

Thanks! At districts I should have better competition too.

You should not do what'been there run that' has said. Do not run further than you ever have and do not up the mileage, the meet is in about a week. You'll be much too tired to perform. You need to challenge the systems you will be using during a race. For exampled do 400s and 600s at race pace or a little faster, and your last lap of a mile should be faster than the first lap.

inexperienced_miler wrote:

I don't drink caffeine because I have a virus that effects many things, including my heart.

Caffeine is bad stuff.

I would not increase your mileage or long run, and would not run more than 2 miles at this point.

Focus on race practice, being rested and sharp for your races.

Pace yourself well. Hold back at the start, and gradually work your way up after the first part of the race when the others are tiring.

J.R. wrote:

I would not increase your mileage or long run, and would not run more than 2 miles at this point.

Focus on race practice, being rested and sharp for your races.

Pace yourself well. Hold back at the start, and gradually work your way up after the first part of the race when the others are tiring.

I was pretty sure that "been there run that" was a troll, but in any case his/her training suggestions were completely bogus. J.R.'s ideas are basically sound, I think, though you can probably afford a run or two that's longer than two miles--depending on what you're used to.

The main thing in the last week or so before "the big race" is NOT to do anything that's substantially different from what you've been doing. A week is not time enough to get into substantially better shape, but it's *plenty* of time to get tired, sore, sick, or injured from trying to adapt to new forms of stress. Avoid them!

As J.R. suggested, do a little race practice e.g. 400s or 500s or 300s or 600s, mostly for pace judgment, with good recoveries and not too many reps.

And get well rested. I agree that *some* extra sleep throughout the week is a good idea. But, again, you don't want to go overboard--at most another hour or so per night (compared to your usual) is best at this point. Also, don't worry about the night before the race--going to bed "extra early" that night can just have you tossing and turning all night. A very good night's sleep the night-before-the-night-before is important; on the night before itself, just go to bed when you're sleepy.

In any case, good luck. Please let us know how things work out.

A panic run or two will most likely do the trick!

PRETEND you are being attacked; chased from behind by a mean, savage, rabid dog. The monster is only about a half block behind you and there is a platform three blocks ahead you could jump onto where the dog could not get to you. But you have to make it to that platform before the dog catches up with you. CAN YOU FEEL THE FEAR???

Scream as you take off sprinting!

Panic runs get you into a NEW LEVEL OF SPEED you didn't have before. The hard part of improving your speed is that you have to do it the first time to make it part of you. Panic runs cause that speed.

Thank you for the suggestions, I'll be sure to let you all know how things go next wednesday.

Most responses mention training and sleep. Only one or two mention the actual race.

Your training is fine, your amount of sleep is fine.

Here is a suggestion of how to run the 4 laps:

Break the race into 4 segments. 600 - 400 - 200 - 400

1. Run the first 600 with the pack, just relax and run. Anybody can run a 600.

2. For the next 400, completely focus on form, and breath hard, harder than you need. People around you will think you're dying, but you know better, you're doing it on purpose. By focusing on form for this 400, you will NOT fall asleep in the middle of the race. Inexperienced milers tend to lose their attention during this part of the race, but you won't.

3. For the next 200....slow down a bit! But keep breathing hard, really hard. For many milers, their 3rd lap is their slowest. Others are slowing down accidentally, so you won't lose any ground. You're slowing down on purpose with a purpose. You are gearing up for the last lap.

4. By breathing harder than you needed for the last 2 segments (400 and 200) you have prolonged the anaerobic feeling that the others have at this point in the race. By purposely easing during the last 200, you were resting! Others were slowing down because they were dying. You have 400 to go and you are ready for the kick. Focus on form and start going all out. You probably have enough experience to know when you can go into an all out sprint.

Depending on the race and the competition, I used to have a pretty good success rate using this formula. One of the previous posters mentioned pace work for 400s and 600s. That is good advice as you need to have a good feel for how fast you're going. Good luck.

Wow!

Some of this advice is downright terrible. Especially this guy talking about breathing harder than you need to. What is that about?

I agree with J.R. that you shouldn't change what you're doing training-wise, really. Get some more sleep - that will definitely help (I find I'm not really 'sharp' if I get less than 8 hours...there have also been studies that say the last 2 hours of sleep are the ones that are most critical to athletic performance). And don't just compensate for not sleeping earlier in the week - you can't make up all your sleep debt in one day.

I agree with only one thing that 'been there run that' said. It should hurt during the race, and you should run hard. But I figured out quickly that if you're hurting at the end of the first lap, you are in for a BAD day. I have some difficulty with pacing during races as well, so I rely on both the amount of pain I am in and the position of my competitors to get a good idea of how fast I am going.

In a race where I am racing people of around equal ability, I assume that they are going to run slower in the second half of the race - it's usually a good assumption. So start off maybe halfway in the field and work your way up through the laps. Everyone dies really badly on the 3rd lap of the mile but that one is definitely the key to running quickly during the race - just suck it up and make it hurt. If you do, you will be passing people the entire time.

So, in summation:

1st lap - relax, run with the pack.

2nd lap - maintain / begin to move up, start to hurt a little.

3rd lap - make your way to the front, feel like your entire body is on fire.

4th lap - kick for home.