Best technique for knocking your run time down

[reed11b]

Originally Posted by Hostile0311

Honestly, the best way I've found is to put one foot in front of the other and repeat as rapidly as possible. Wanna get faster? Move your legs faster. No really...it does work.

This reads like a smart ass comment, but it is really good advice. I have always been an atrocious runner and have tried many "tips" to run faster, but focusing on steps per second while I run has helped more then anything else.The goal is 180 steps a minute or 3 steps a second. When I run I count onetwothree in my head and this has helped a lot. switching between tempo and interval runs is good advice as well.
Reed

[T-Neck]

Originally Posted by Dogwasher

T-Neck,

Good luck in your pursuit. There is some good advice, and some great lines, in the responses. Many of them worked very well for me.

I would like to respectfully add one suggestion, as it worked for me.

When I was starting out I had a simple course that was easy for me to run on. One day I timed it, and every so often after that I would time it again to see where I stood. Before I knew it the times started getting faster overall, without any 'science' or 'magic'. The improvement became fun and motivating, and perhaps even a 'reward' if you will.

I kept this up for a while without too much brain power behind it and the results kept improving. This led me to see what 'this machine' could really do if properly challenged. From there I gradually upped the intensity, added some distance here and there, and ended up actually having some fun along the way.

Before I knew it I started entering a few local races for fun, and found I enjoyed it. Again, no 'magic' and not too much 'science'. Just willing to suffer some, while wanting to improve. Having that 'known course' as a standard to run allowed me to compare myself to me and track my progress in black and white. Good days, bad days, all towards improvement.

Take care.

Much Appreciated! I find myself in the same situation in regards to how I've been training. Where I am currently at, I pretty much only have a sketchy perimeter to run...at night, and I cant see too much..but i've just been hammering out that course as many times as possible and going from there. I've dropped about 40 seconds in the last 2.5 weeks; and am hoping to continue that rate before I head home.

[Hot Mess]

I guess you just could have searched here. This has been discussed many times before.

[War_Drum]

Pretty much like other people have said, you're gonna just have to get out there and run. If you stay consistent you'll start to feel lighter on your feet while you run even if you haven't lost any weight. Because of your size its not going to be easy on your knees as you get started- so it's very important to stretch and then warm up (not ok to ignore any more like when you were young). Start out on a stationary bike in the gym if you can. Spend about 10-15 mins. peddling backwards and forwards- this will deffinitely make it easier on the lower joints. I've delt with this same issue alot because I put on size any weight really quick. You might want to trade out a few running days here and there for the eliptical also just as further caution for your joints or try out HIIT.

[armyscout33]

Run hills if you can. They knocked almost a minute off my run time when I ran a lot. When I was at Bragg I thought I was a damn good runner. 6 months of West Point running hills taught me I was not. When I left there I was much better and faster. I am just getting back in to running again and the hills kick my ass but they are doing wonders again for an out of shape 42 year old. Good luck

[CA SGT]

Thing that always worked for me was doing interval training. Always improved my times

[T-Neck]

Originally Posted by War_Drum

Because of your size its not going to be easy on your knees as you get started- so it's very important to stretch and then warm up (not ok to ignore any more like when you were young).

I've noticed that almost immediately. I've started doing some warmups on the bike over the last few days like you've said, it's def. helped.

[Teddek]

Hey T-Neck, I have an awesome routine designed specifically for producing fast 1.5 mile times. If you like I can email it to you? I can also try and post it on the forum as an image if there are others who are interested.

[T-Neck]

Originally Posted by Teddek

Hey T-Neck, I have an awesome routine designed specifically for producing fast 1.5 mile times. If you like I can email it to you? I can also try and post it on the forum as an image if there are others who are interested.

PM sent

[molonlabe110]

Interval training builds speed. Crossfit endurance has some great interval workouts.

This stuff is way more scientific than the military led us to believe from years of doing garbage PT plans. I defer to the experts on this. Tabata sprints are another great way to gain speed.

Some of running science is counter intuitive. More is not better and we only improve when we rest.

[MrSmith]

A good, simple workout that really helped my speed was to go to a 1/4 mile track and run (not jog- run as hard as you possibly can) the straight long section, then walk the turn to the next straight. Rinse, repeat, and probably vomit.

[trident86]

Best bet is to avoid it altogether. It's hard to beat a 00:00::00!

[commocarnes]

Originally Posted by trident86

Best bet is to avoid it altogether. It's hard to beat a 00:00::00!

And my 43yr old Knees dont get as PISSED at me. However, my 43yr old belly gets kinda puffy if I dont do some running. Stupid Running...........

[hunteran]

The only way to get faster is to run more. You need to build up your aerobic engine and then focus on your speed (trying to build speed without endurance is like trying to build a house on a foundation of sand). Modern distance training emphasizes a base building phase where you focus on building up your aerobic capacity. Then, when your aerobic system is strong enough, you start throwing in faster stuff and you build up your speed. Very oversimplified of course, but that's the gist of modern distance training.

I would focus on building up your endurance (start running longer, you didn't say how far you're running right now). Anything under 30 minutes is very limiting when it comes to aerobic development, yes its beneficial, but you start to see a pretty significant improvement in your aerobic capacity once you start running for more than 30 minutes at a time. After a few weeks of this, when its starting to feel comfortable, start throwing in some speed work. Fartleks are a great way to build speed and they don't require a track or any sort of special facilities. You just go out for your run and in the middle you do a bunch of strong pickups and then cool down on your way home. A good example of this; back in high school we'd go for an 8 mile run every Saturday and in the middle we'd do 16 one minute sprints with a minute of fast jogging in between each sprint.

Originally Posted by armyscout33

Run hills if you can.

Yep, hills are speedwork in disguise. They build strength as well as speed and they can also prevent injuries (Arthur Lydiard found that running hills prevented hamstring injuries) that are caused by muscle imbalances.

Hope that helps a bit.

[molonlabe110]

hunteran-

I understand why you are saying run more but in my experience that can often lead to an athlete overtraining. Quality of training will always trump volume. Overtraining of running without the appropriate level of strength and conditioning will lead to overuse injuries in all but those of us most genetically predisposed to running.

Two great programs which help with the development of our three metabolic pathways in a balanced approach are:

[Ranger5280]

As Hot Mess stated. Plenty of info on here about this.
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