Dang I hate running

[massphatness]

My 16-y.o. had to pass a physical fitness test to qualify for a leadership academy this summer. He was required to run 1.5 miles in 13:00 minutes.

The Senior Chief of his NJROTC unit recommended he NOT run the full 1.5 miles while trainning. Rather, he had him doing a mile 3x per week and 1.25 miles, once a week. He only ran the full 1.5 miles a couple times a month, and that was only as a progress check.

The other piece of advice he got that seemed to be helpful was to maintain an upright posture. As he would tire, my son would bend his head and toroso forward making breathing more difficult and causing his diaphragm to work harder.

I'm a big fat slob, so I can only pass along what I saw work for my son.

Good luck on the test.

[hotreds]

Well, I wish I could run!

[chippewastud79]

Originally Posted by hotreds

Well, I wish I could run!

[BamBam]

I've got a few things for you:

First, wear a wrist watch that has a stop watch on it when you train and when you run the test. That way you can find your pace for the mile and a half in training and replicate that on the test. Also on the test you will know if you are behind schedule to make your time and you can gut out a sprint if needed.

Second, if you haven't already, clean up your eating habits. I'm not sure of your body composition, but if your diet is clean, and your body is getting more lean then the run will become much easier.

Third, persistence is key. Remember anything worth anything does not come easy. The reason they do all these tests is to weed out the "non-hackers" they do not want representing there department. Many want to wear the uniform, but not all are willing to do what it takes.

Good luck on the test.

I've run a mile or two in my day, LOL

if you want to get faster you have to run faster.

Two easy ways to do that for someone new to running is:

1) once or twice a week spend part of the time running uphill. Hill training is a great way to increase your fitness without beating your legs up.

2) on your regular run do interval or "fartlek". During the run pick out an object, like a telephone pole, and run faster to it, when you get to it, slow down to your regular pace. Repeat.

Finally, if the run is a mile and a half you need to train longer than that, not shorter. Your run should be at least two miles, at a minimum if the test run is one and a half. Runners train to run longer than their race distance

[WildBlueSooner]

Originally Posted by Resipsa

I've run a mile or two in my day, LOL

if you want to get faster you have to run faster.

Two easy ways to do that for someone new to running is:

1) once or twice a week spend part of the time running uphill. Hill training is a great way to increase your fitness without beating your legs up.

2) on your regular run do interval or "fartlek". During the run pick out an object, like a telephone pole, and run faster to it, when you get to it, slow down to your regular pace. Repeat.

Finally, if the run is a mile and a half you need to train longer than that, not shorter. Your run should be at least two miles, at a minimum if the test run is one and a half. Runners train to run longer than their race distance

He speaks the truth. Hill training helped me bigtime when I was looking to improve my run time and "fartleks" should be in everyone workout routine.

[landhoney]

Originally Posted by Resipsa

2) on your regular run do interval or "fartlek". During the run pick out an object, like a telephone pole, and run faster to it, when you get to it, slow down to your regular pace. Repeat.

This works well, I am doing this currently to improve my speed for my leg of the marathon relay some of my company is running in.

Good luck on the test, I hate running too! No advice on running faster or training...just best wishes, and know that if you want it, you can do it!