Cut time off run?

[bp7178]

When I got out of our academy, I went from 6'-3" 225 to 205lbs, huge body fat loss as well. Managed 54 pushups in a min, 84 of these crunch things they had us do, and like a 9:35 1.5 mile time.

I think I was pretty fit when I got out. I would have rated myself as an 8 out of ten.

I think your "8" is a little high with almost an 11 min pace. You need to be honest with yourself about where you are, and what you're currently doing.

The academy is good because you will get new fresh workouts, stuff you probably wouldn't do on your own. For a while, even on PT days, I would still go home and run/lift.

At 6'-2" 220, you are most likely overweight. Check your diet, and again be honest about it. Cut sugar big time. Soda, candy and all that shit ****s with your blood sugar. You'll crave food when you aren't hungry. I lost 15lbs by not drinking soda. It's amazing how much less food cravings I get.

[sniperfrog]

I understand the snow issue. As far as intervals like many suggested, I would start off getting a good arobic base first. Try running 1.5 miles at your current pace, 3 days a week. Add a half a mile each week until you get to 3 miles. Then I would add in some interval training. There's a million ways to do it; run hard for 30 seconds then jog or walk for 30, or you can go a minute each, etc..
Theres also tabatas (google it) which work well.

[chuckman]

I am not a fast runner, but I am a determined one...I may not win any races, but I can just about outlast anyone on a run (except marathoners and ultramarathoners). The way I learned to run faster was to...run faster. Intervals helped me more than anything, and I 'enjoy' fartlek runs, where I just increase my speed as I feel like it, then back down, then back up, then medium speed, then back down, etc. I have always been a big fella...when I was a corpsman attached to the Marines and at the peak of my fitness I was around 190 (I am 5' 8"), and running the Navy's 1.5 mile in about 10 minutes. You can do it, but you have to run.

[Militant83]

Well thanks everyone for the advice. Looks like some form of interval training is where its at. So thats where i will start while following sniperfrogs advice.

And again thanks .

[Hammer27]

Before I give any advice I'm going to toss out the "credentials" first.
PR's of:
4:37 Mile
9:58 2 mile
15:45 3 mile
I ran my last PRT 1.5 mile in 7:50
I also maxed push ups and sit ups with 101 of each, and have maxed both the APFT and PFT.
I'm 5' 8" and 165lbs

If you're running nearly a 16minute 1.5mile you're going to need more than just intervals. Those are good for increasing turn over and "quickness" but you're going to have to work on endurance a bit more. Runs of 3-8miles at a certain pace, working on holding a steady speed are going to be key. Pick a pace you want to run for the event (say you want to run it in 12minutes, that's an 8 minute mile) and try to maintain that pace for your longer runs. For sprint work (IE track work) try to go at 2/3 of your target pace.
Do distance/endurance training 4 times a week and track work/speed training 2 times.

[superr.stu]

With where you are at right now distance and threshold type work are going to give you the most gains. They will make sure you have endurance and strength to carry you through your race. As you get more fit your distance should continue to increase and you should start to transition into more interval training. Nothing fancy, something like 4sets of 4x400 @ race pace with 60sec between reps 3min between sets will do a lot for you. Like hammer said 3-8 mile runs are going to be your best friend.

i can try and dig out last years track program that i based most of my training off of, most of it should apply to your goals. I'll pm it when i find it.

also like hammer i'll provide some "credentials"
800 1:58
1600 4:28
5k 15:42
been coaching HS track and XC for the past 3.5 years