Cut time off run?

[Militant83]

Anyone have any good training ideas for shaving some time off of your run time.

Im needing to cut about 3 min in 5 months.

[militarymoron]

that's a lot to shave off over just a mile; not so much for a marathon. which is it?

[kartoffel]

Cut 3 minutes of what? 1 mile, 2 miles, 5k, 10k?

The best bang for your buck, IMHO, is interval training. Mix your long aerobic burns with short anaerobic bursts. A you progress, challenge yourself by making the anaerobic intervals longer, and space them closer together.

[Travis B]

The best bang for your buck, IMHO, is interval training. Mix your long aerobic burns with short anaerobic bursts. A you progress, challenge yourself by making the anaerobic intervals longer, and space them closer together.

+1 for interval training. During my XC days in high school I got down to a 18min 5K pretty quickly by doing long, moderate pace runs mixed in with 400M and 800M sprints and to work on your final kick, do short (50 or so yard) sprints after running workouts. Your time will go down very quickly. Good luck

[kit222]

If running on a track isn't too boring, its easy to do intervals there...

Alternating fast and slow laps, with the slow laps taking twice as long as your fast. The idea being that you take twice as long to cover the same distance.

Another method I've tried is just doing 30/60's, sprinting for 30 seconds and then jog/walk for 60, then sprint again. That gets me pretty smoked after doing it for a few minutes though hahah.

[Dos Cylindros]

Intervals work well, as does in my experience treadmill training. Set your normal distance on the treadmill, and up your pace a little each time. For instance, if you normally run 5miles at an 8 min mile pace (7.5 mph on treadmill), then run the same on the mill, but run it at 8.0 mph then slowly increace by .2 mph each time. This has worked well for me.

[BushmasterFanBoy]

Intervals work well, as does in my experience treadmill training. Set your normal distance on the treadmill, and up your pace a little each time. For instance, if you normally run 5miles at an 8 min mile pace (7.5 mph on treadmill), then run the same on the mill, but run it at 8.0 mph then slowly increace by .2 mph each time. This has worked well for me.

I've got to agree with this as well. Since I'm such a pansy, I've consigned myself to treadmill running this winter. Using pretty much the same method of slight speed increases, I started my 5k at 7.8mph this winter, but by increasing .1mph each week, I'm now at 8.5mph over the same 5k. I'm hoping to increase my distance next.

Is it as good as running outdoors? No, I don't think it is, but I'm definately getting more fit, fitness that I can put to work when the weather turns. I'm stoked about my 5 miler times that I'm working towards, and I'm thinking that in a few months, my 40-min 5 mile will be seeing a BIG cut.

But that goes back to the OP; cuts are relative. 3 minutes off a mile is something that can take a year, even if you're in poor shape now. If you're already in great shape, it may not even be possible. 3 minutes off a 5k is a tough goal to shoot for, and something you'll work on. A 5 mile run? Train for it and you can get it. A marathon? Keeping your mind sharp and adding a mental push may easily net you 3 minutes. Let us know more and we can get you on the right track.

[Heartbreaker]

Intervals (also referred to HIIT - high intensity interval training) are the way to go as everyone has said. Get a cheap heart rate monitor and work out an interval plan based on % of your max heart rate, you will see better results than just running as fast as you can for 1 minute or 1 lap. I had always ran for distance (I still do interval training for running, swimming, and cycling, it helps endurance as much as speed) but decided to get my speed up a little higher last year, I was able to drop my 3 mile run from 24 minutes to sub 21 minutes in about 3 months. It all comes down to how much time you are willing to spend and how much you want it. Eating right is huge, as well as a good supplement plan.

[MeanRider]

interval training and plyometrics.

[Militant83]

Its for a 1.5 mile run for police acadamy... When we did our initial pt assesment it was done indoors on a sqare track. Which having to slow down for corners on a square track crowed with other runners probably added some time to it so in reality on an open course or even a round track the 3 min is more like 2 min when you take out the corners.

I work out 4-5 days a weeks.