Letsrun faithful: Help me get from 7:39 for 1.25 miles to 8:40 for 1.5 miles in 3 weeks

You might already be there with competition. I'd increase the speed workouts and not try to jack up the mileage. Your goal here is short term, and requires good speed.

Some short intervals at race pace seem to be in order (these intervals have the added advantage of being pretty near true VO2 max pace).

Week one race pace workout:

2 x mile @ tempo pace w/ 90s recovery, easy 800m jog, 10 x 400 @ 85-86s w/ 60-75s recovery.

Week two race pace workout:

2 x 1000 @ tempo pace w/ 60s recovery, easy 800m jog,

4 x 800 in 2:50-:52 w/ 2:30 recovery.

Week three (race week) race pace workout:

2 x 400 @ mile pace w/ 90s recovery, 1000m @ race pace, 90s recovery, 2 x 200 @ mile pace w/ 90s recovery.

Do another tempo workout (20 mins @ tempo run pace, 4 x mile @ cruise interval pace w/ 90s rest) in weeks one and two. Finish it up with some strides or 4 x 200 quick. In week three, just do that one workout and take the three days before the trial race super-easy, with just some strides thrown in to keep yourself used to the feeling of your legs turning over quickly.

Thanks!

Those look like somewhat high volume workouts but I will do what it takes.

I actually tried to do 10x400 today but stopped after 4 because I felt like crap and was running them in high 90s... slooow. I don't know why some days I feel horrible, it is really frustrating. I'll attempt the 2xmile + 10x400 workout on Friday and hopefully be able to get through that. Don't know if I can hit that pace for the 400s... but I guess I could do it by effort?

Actually I was also thinking of doing 2400 fast followed by some 400s. To see how far off I was.

i gotcha covered baby.

you want to get from a 7:39 for 1.25 mi to a 8:40 for 1.5 mi? heres what you do. run 1.25 in 7:39 then kick like a motherfvcker. a 61 will get you to 8:40 on the nose. see? easy.

Hey! I will give you a plan to help you out.

There are a few rules.

1.) Don't time anything. Not being satisfied with a time can be discouraging.

2.) Enjoy it and have fun!

Sunday- 60 minute run

Monday-2 mile warm up, 10 minutes of bleachers, 6x30seconds of sprinting with a min recovery between each, 2 mile cooldown.

Tuesday- 40 minute run and 6x100 meter strides

Wednesday- 2 mile warm up 8 laps of sprinting the straits and jogging the curves 2 mile cooldown

Thursday- 40 minute run and 10x100s

Friday- 2 mile warm up 6x2minFast/1 minute slow 2 mile cooldown

Saturday- rest or 30 minutes easy.

Kip da course yo

Gotta Register for the road race then pin the top two wholes of your bib number and let the bottom two holes just dangle over your nutsack. Cover it with a longsleeve tee long enough to fall and cover the bib number. Dress casually at the start as though youre not really racing. After the gun goes off wait until 4mins pass. Walk casually across starting line Slip off the course. Strip outfit and Reenter race at mile 23. Jog it in. Keep careful track of time and Make sure not to cross finish too soon or you might get caught for an unrealistic net time.

Amusing..

I plan to do strides after most of my runs and do them at least once a day.

So taking the suggestions so far, I'm thinking of doing combo workouts that combine different aspects of training. In 2 weeks there is an indoor 1 mile and 2 mile race here and I want to run one of those, possibly the mile to see where I am.

If you are struggling being consistent, then that might be a sign that your body can't handle either the mileage or the intensity of the workouts. Are you keeping one day 5 miles or less than 40 easy minutes to allow your body to recover? I would definitely wait until your body feels strong to up to doing more doubles.

I know everyone has their training preferences so here's my take. On a race as short as a mile and a half, and with you doing high mileage, I don't see a need for doing any intervals longer than 800m. With that high of mileage you know that you have endurance. As long as you do a 3-5 mile tempo run every week or two then you will keep up the endurance you will need for your time trial.

What you really need is to become comfortable running at faster speeds. I would recommend starting off with something like 3x600 followed after full rest by 4-6x200. If you wanted to do 400's I wouldn't do more than 6-8 broken up into two sets. These two workouts should be done at or slightly above your goal race pace with about 2:00 recovery. As you get closer to the trial, run 3x400, 4x300m with full rest in between sets at a pace slightly faster than your goal pace. The 4's should have about 2min rest, and the 3's should have 1 to 1:30 and be faster than the 4's.

I've done doubles before and trained more. I don't know why I'm going through this phase, it may be allergies.

Thanks for the ideas!

My rough plan right now is to do 6 laps tomorrow fast followed by some 400s. Then Saturday easy, Sunday long. Sometime next week, say Tuesday, I can try that 3x600 workout with 200s... and see if I can get near goal pace.

OK all did a combo workout today taking some of your ideas. It was:

1x1600

800 jog

2x800 with 400 jog

1x400, 3x300 with 200 jog

Times were: 6:40, 3:20, 3:24, 96, 67, 66, 65

The 800s were tough b/c I thought I wasn't running TOO hard on the 1600 but it looks like it took more out of me than I thought. There was a headwind on the homestretch (so tailwind on the backstretch) and I was feeling it by the 400s so I just ran 300s instead with the tailwind and it was pretty tough.

I ran the workout alone which has been a bit tough (which is what I've had to do since my team got axed).

Any feedback on how this workout went/what it might indicate? I should have run the first mile slower so that my 800 pace didn't slow down so much.

You only have three weeks. Quit the doubles, run a couple times a week at the pace you need for the time trial and run easy in the in between days.

unfortunately, what this means is that you're body really likes to run at a 6:40 pace.

In your mind what was the purpose of this workout? If you don't have some sort of training theory how can you tell what workouts you need to do? Multiple training methods will all get you to the same results, but you need to pick one. Some parts can be mixed and matched, but there does need to be some sort of cohesive framework.

I thought that it would focus on some endurance/strength as well as some speed.

In that case, I think besides a tempo run, the next workout I will do is something like 600s (something along the lines that was recommended). I think I may also jump into a mile type race and just practice racing as well. Any feedback?

If you hope to run 1.5 miles in 8:40, then it stands to reason that you need to spend some time practicing running reps at that pace: 800s in 2:52, 600s in 2:09, 400s in 86, 300s in 64.5, or 200s in 43.

As malmo put it:

"I think the important thing here is that if you want to run faster, you have to run faster. Do that by either cutting down the pace of your repeats or by shortening them and getting in the pace you ultimately want to race at, then lengthen the reps as you become fitter."

In that case, my next workout will be attempting some 600s at race pace.

Your body will not appreciate doing everything that everyone on here suggests. I agree with the posters who say that with three weeks to go, ramping mileage isn't going to help. In fact, it's probably counter productive. Also, adding exercises like bleachers in at this point is just going to open you up to injury, as does overtraining. Take the strong foundation that you have, and process it naturally to include more speed.

600s, 800s or 1000s seem like an appropriate distance for repeat workouts. You're actually well on track for your goal. A few weeks to go, maybe 4-5 more speed workouts...you have a dedicated attitude...you ran 7:39 (by yourself?), and will be running the mile and a half with people (or at least in front of people?)...

You're there. Just need to buckle down and get growly-tough for your time trail, and you'll be in.

What you do once you get in, now that's a different thing.

Yes, the 7:39 was by myself, I am not sure if for the 1.5 miles it will be by myself or with people so that may make a bit of a difference.

My runs have been a bit shorter but I've been doing doubles consistently which I will phase out in the last few days leading up to the race. My plan for the next few days is:

Sunday - longer run with a tempo section included

Monday - easy (2 runs)

Tuesday - 3x600 @ goal race pace (as close as I can get) with ~300 jog in between, then 4-6x200 @ faster than goal race pace with 200 jog in between

Wednesday - easy (2 runs)

Thursday - 4x400 @ goal race pace with 200 jog in between

Friday - easy

Saturday - race 800 and/or mile hard

Based on how Saturday's race goes I can figure it out from there. How does this plan sound?