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Running Even Faster
Most of the time, I receive emails from people who are seeking to pass their PFT and just as many who wish to max out their PFT scores for their age group. There are many articles in the archive about the PFT for all services and events so check those out.
Every now and then, I get emails from people who are training to run even faster than they already are. These are the runner who are trying to break 5:00- 6:00 mile pace and are usually Marines who want to run faster than 18:00 on the three mile run or Army Rangers or SF guys who want to hit 11-12:00 in the 2 mile run.
I have been working on some training regimens for speed building and have discussed many different ways to accomplish this goal with collegiate and Olympic runners in the 800m, 1500m, and 5km events. It seems from my trial and error and recent research that the way to tackle this speedy goal is twofold:
1)
Be an avid runner before building your speed. Building a foundation of 20-25 miles a week of running is considered to be foundation enough to start pushing your own envelope of speed. Check out the running plans in the article “ More Running – Maybe a Marathon" to see how to build your foundation if you are not up to that mileage yet.
2)
Interval Training – It seems that interval training will help you increase your foot speed, build your VO2 Max, and makes your PFT distance running at faster paces more comfortable – meaning you are getting in better shape. See Interval training ideas on how to implement speed training with your running schedule.
Here are some intense intervals to help you with your training for crushing the PFT run or 5k and 10 k contests:
Workout #1:
Run 1 mile easy / stretch
Repeat 8-10 times
Run ¼ mile at 10-20 seconds under current mile pace.
Jog slow or walk 1:00
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Say you are running a 9:00 1.5 mile run = 6:00 mile pace = 90 seconds ¼ mile run.
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Try to hit these ¼ mile intervals at 70-80 seconds.
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Benefits – increase foot speed, and build VO2 Max.
Workout
#2
Run 1 mile easy / stretch
Repeat 5 times
Run ½ miles at 10 seconds under current mile pace
Jog slow or walk 2:00
Workout #3
Run 1 mile easy / stretch
Run 1 mile at 10 seconds above current mile pace
Jog 2:00 slow
Run 1 mile at current mile pace
Jog 2:00 slow
Run 1 mile at 10 seconds faster than current mile pace
Cool down jog 5:00
Stretch
W
orkout #4Run 5:00 / warmup / stretch
Run for 30:00 total BUT
Run 1:00 sprint / followed by 1:00 slow jog for
30:00
Try these workouts during the next month using 2-3 of the above workouts each week mixed with your normal pace jogging on other running days. You will see your timed runs drop significantly. I am testing these out at the Naval Academy over the summer with some SEAL wanna-be’s and myself. Let me know if you have any success and I will post the before and after scores if you wish. Pick your distance and go after your personal best.
Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. If you are interested in starting a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle - check out the StewSmith.com Fitness eBook store and the Stew Smith article archive at StewSmith.com. To contact Stew with your comments and questions, e-mail him at stew@stewsmith.com.
