What's the minimum speed needed to run a sub 5 minute mile?

4:59.9 mile speed?

Tomorrow land wrote:

5:41 to a sub 5 min mile by this fall

more probably next fall

64 / 2:20 is definitely sufficient with good endurance

This is a good point. I was a 400/800 guy (50.xx. 1:58.xx) and could barely break 5:00 (in high school).

Granted, I never really ran it after 10th grade when I ran 4:51.

But as I got older and concentrated on 5k,10k I was able to break 4:50 relatively easily.

I didn't have a lot of opportunities to run the mile where I live- mostly 5K and up road races- but you should have no problem.

Do some 300's at race pace. I always like them for mile training.

I was a half miler with 440/880 bests of 54.0 and 2:11.2 and 2:29 for 1000 yds when I first broke 5:00 as a HS senior in 1961. I ran 2:05.5 for 880 2 weeks later

Tomorrow land wrote:

lollerama wrote:

I'm not sure about the speed needed (shorter distances) as I am a distance runner, but considering you run 50 mpw I assume you probably run longer distances as well, at least occasionally - so coming at it from the other way, I was able to break 5 around the same time I could break 10:00 for 3km. I was also somewhere in the 17:15 range for 5k at the time if I remember correctly.

I do and have been training exclusively for longer distance races. I've never trained for just a mile goal time, but I'd like to work on it this year. Just curious to know what kind of minimum speed I need in the 800m, 400m, and 200m. Thinking something like 2:20-2:25 for an 800m, 68 to 70 for a 400m, and 30 to 32 for a 200m I'm guessing these are close to the right benchmarks?

When I broke 5 I could run a 57, a 2:13, and a 10:52 3200m.

I think if you can run a 61-2 second 400 at the end of a longer workout. 2:20 800 like in a time trial and have the ability to go through 1200 at 3:40 you can break 5.

You don't need that much speed, though it does make it easier.

I ran 4:52 with 200/400/800 "prs" of 29.x w/ a rolling start, 68, and a 2:20.9 relay split.

Though I'm guessing I could have run 63/2:17 at the time of my 4:52.

If you can run 10x400 with 60 seconds rest and average under 75 seconds, then you can run a mile sub 5. That workout is a good test for mile ability.

I had a 49 second 400 and could not break 5.

*48

you're a long way off wrote:

You should be able to run sub five off the mileage alone. It honestly doesn't look good for you.

What if the mileage was at 10 minutes per mile, or whatever "slow" pace? How would that correlate with a 5 minute mile?

Tomorrow land wrote:

I have ambitions to try to get my mile time down from 5:41 to a sub 5 min mile by this fall. What are the minimum speed standards that can help show one can successfully string together a sub 5 mile time? I've been averaging 50 mpw, looking to average 70 mpw over summer and bring it down to 45to 50mpw in September.

Speed of Light.

Work towards being able to do these workouts and the speed as well as the endurance will be there:

4:58 100/18.5 200/37 400/74 1000/3:05

8x200 @ 34.x with 200m jogs in 1 minute between

2x5x400 -avg. 75 with 1 min rest and 3 min set rest.

5x1000 in 3:22 w 3 minute rest

20 mins at about 6:07 pace pretty comfortably.

Tomorrow land wrote:

Thinking something like 2:20-2:25 for an 800m, 68 to 70 for a 400m, and 30 to 32 for a 200m I'm guessing these are close to the right benchmarks?

There are people on my HS team who run right around 5 minutes for the mile, they can run around 61-63 for 400 and like 2:18ish for 800.

I ran a 60.0 sec 400m about 10 minutes after a 3k race, wearing heavy trainers, with no idea how to pace a 400, so maybe my 400 PB was high 50s.

But I could only run a 5:01 mile in a solo time trial :( Running about 40-50k/week.

In the 400 finishing straight i easily sprinted by the guy that beat me in the 3k (he ran under 10 mins, can't remember my time) and he *could* break 5:00/mile, he was a 34min 10k guy.

Tomorrow land wrote:

I have ambitions to try to get my mile time down from 5:41 to a sub 5 min mile by this fall....I've been averaging 50 mpw, looking to average 70 mpw over summer and bring it down to 45to 50mpw in September.

Sorry dude, but i f you've been running a long time now, really don't think you will do it, 41 sec is a lot of time to make up.

If you're new to running and still youngish, with a focused Mile training plan, you have a chance.

But keep us posted, sounds exciting! MensHealth had a blog many years ago about an ahtletic non-runner guy trying to break 5min mile, following a really stupid plan that focused on HIT type workouts designed by some XFit beefcake. I don't think he ran much longer than 5k on any given day. After a few months the blog entries dried up, i don't think he did much better than 5:30 and had a lot of niggling injuries.

Math boffin on LRC wrote:

fartleks and bagels wrote:

12 mph

False. He said sub 5 minute mile.

You gave the infimum, not the minimum (which doesn't actually exist).

+1 for the dweebs ;) I appreciate it.

I didn't start running until 4 years ago. That first year I ran a 5:13 late in the summer at a mile race. Ran 20-30mpw those first couple of years and did other sports. When I switched to more of a running only focus, and ran around 50-60mpw for a year I consistently hit 5:02-5:05. At the time I was running around 17:30-40 for 5k. Last year I stopped doing much speed work, but raced a variety of distances while focusing on marathon training and was consistently averaging 70mpw and first broke 5 last fall with a low 4:50s. At that time I was in around 17:10-20 5k shape. Could run a sub 60 400m without it being too taxing. 8x800m intervals in 2:20-2:30 were doable. 12x200 on :35 was a common workout.

So, it took a 3 years to take 20 second off my mile time. Maybe with specific mile training that could have been sped up significantly, but this fall seems a little ambitious.

I was at high 23 for 200 and high 52 for 400 when I first did it, but I am very speed based.

youcandoit wrote:

I'd say the minimum speed requirement is around 75 seconds per 400

Yeah....if you want to run 5:01 for a mile.