-
Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?
Go here:
Edit Account Details and Profile
PRT Run
- Thread starter TopShot
- Start date
Tough to say. What kind of mileage are you running regularly? Do you have a solid distance base built up already?
1.5 is not so long a race, so I suspect you've got more of a pacing issue. Maybe you've even been running too long and trained your body to be comfortable in that 7 minute pace that's so nice for 10 milers.
I would say alternate your training days between 3-5 milers and days where you do 4 or 5 X 800m intervals. Also key here is not letting yourself get stuck in a comfortable pace on those longer runs. Running with music helps some people b/c they tend to tailor their pace to the beat. Some people like the trick of consciously picking points in the distance and surging to them.
1.5 is not so long a race, so I suspect you've got more of a pacing issue. Maybe you've even been running too long and trained your body to be comfortable in that 7 minute pace that's so nice for 10 milers.
I would say alternate your training days between 3-5 milers and days where you do 4 or 5 X 800m intervals. Also key here is not letting yourself get stuck in a comfortable pace on those longer runs. Running with music helps some people b/c they tend to tailor their pace to the beat. Some people like the trick of consciously picking points in the distance and surging to them.
BadgerNavy
New Member
PropAddict was totally right when he said you need to be doing intervals. I don't have enough knowledge to try to prescribe what kind of intervals would be best for you to reach your goals, but I would suggest finding a resource that can help you. I'd try surfing the web, talking to a friend who's a serious runner, maybe going to a local running shop and asking someone who works there for some training tips or resource help. Best of luck!
You can train for the 1.5 just like you'd train for the mile. I wouldn't do any distance longer than 4 miles (except for the occassional 6+ mile long slow distance jog), and hit the track hard. When I ran the mile, 400 meter repeats were my staple. They really helped drop time. You want to keep the rest short---around two minutes, and try to keep the times consistent. Run hard though. You should come across that line each and every time feeling like death, and you should start each one not feeling much better. Start small, 4x400, and work your way up. I wouldn't do anything more than 8-10x400.
Negative splits are great too.
Negative splits are great too.
All of the comments here are pretty much right on the money. 30 seconds off an already decent time is tough to do. If you ran the PRT on a track, you are talking 5 second per lap.
The idea of interval training is a good one. I would take it down from 800's all the way to 400's and 200's. Stride training can also help that final kick. Run some build ups on the track to get that sprinter's stride down. I have never been a good "pace" runner, so if I was going to go after your goal I would just try to knock 15 seconds off my first and last lap and keep "pace" for the middle 4.
The idea of interval training is a good one. I would take it down from 800's all the way to 400's and 200's. Stride training can also help that final kick. Run some build ups on the track to get that sprinter's stride down. I have never been a good "pace" runner, so if I was going to go after your goal I would just try to knock 15 seconds off my first and last lap and keep "pace" for the middle 4.
Don't increase your mileage too much per week or you'll risk injury. You need some rest days in there.
In addition to your pre-PRT work-outs, take a look at your strategy during the 1.5 mile run itself.
Back before my warranty expired after I turned 35, some of the best advice I got was to attack the first 1/3 of the run...instead of trying to run a steady pace throughout the 1.5 miles...go out pretty strong. Theory being it gets harder to make up time later in the run as you begin to tire. Essentially, start fast(er) and gut it out because it's really not that long a race.
Granted, I was in my early 20s, but my time dropped from around 9:15 down to 8:25.
And yeah, careful of running longer runs at a slower pace...once I started training for a marathon, my PRT times began to increase...surprisingly quickly, too.
My two cents...
Spekkio
He bowls overhand.
There are people who run a LOT more than 4.5-6 mi a week, and they're fine. The fastest guy in our OCS class, a triathlete, would do 11 mile runs once a week, and ran 5x a week. I don't think upping the frequency or volume of running at this point is going to put OP at a huge injury risk, as long as he doesn't do it dramatically. Thing is, more volume doesn't necessarily equate to faster speeds.
That's what I was saying. If he immediately starts doubling his workouts a week , thus almost doubling his mileage, he's going to hurt himself in the long run. Bad juju. If he wants to run every day, that's cool, but he's got to do it slowly and be sure to take a day off here and there. Even when I was training for the half marathon I took a little time off.
This is a phenomenal book that can probably answer any question you might have about running in general and about training for races ranging 800m to marathon. Written by legendary Olympic coach and exercise physiologist, Jack Daniels. Your local library probably has it.
http://www.amazon.com/Daniels-Runni...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219612480&sr=1-1
After applying one of the sample programs for 10 weeks I dropped my time from 11:00 to 9:16, matching the time I ran in boot camp 10 years prior.
http://www.amazon.com/Daniels-Runni...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219612480&sr=1-1
After applying one of the sample programs for 10 weeks I dropped my time from 11:00 to 9:16, matching the time I ran in boot camp 10 years prior.
Spekkio
He bowls overhand.
The big thing with reducing run time (or any fitness performance improvement) is moving out of your comfort zone. It's more of a mental challenge than physical, since you have to voluntarily put yourself into a situation where you feel dead tired and still workout harder.
I agree that you need to push yourself to your limits often in your training (especially during intervals), but doing so every single day you run can put you at risk for injury unnecessarily. That is, assuming you're running more than 3-4 days a week. Your body just can't recover quickly enough to be pounding it in an all-out effort every single day, especially if you haven't built up a solid base of easy running. Believe it or not, there is something to be wrought from long, easy, hour-long runs, and it's more than just the feel-good aspect of it.