Depending on your running experience and fitness levels, running 1 1/2 miles can present a challenge. Doing so in under 15 minutes can present an even greater challenge. By training three times a week, with a day where you walk between running sessions, you can improve your conditioning and your speed. The walking sessions help you recover from training and burn additional fat, which means you do not have to move as much weight over your race distance. Consult a health-care practitioner before beginning any athletic training program.
Step 1
Run 1 1/2 miles as fast as you can. Time this run. Walk a 1/2 mile after you recover to help yourself recover and to cool down properly, avoiding cramping. Walk the next day for 30 minutes at an easy pace.
Step 2
Run a 1/2 mile. Walk back. Repeat this until you have completed four 1/2-mile runs. You do not need to time yourself, but push hard on each run. Walk for 30 minutes at an easy pace the next day.
Step 3
Run two miles. Complete this run while running at 90 percent of the pace you ran at during your first day. If you ran your initial 1 1/2 miles in 18 minutes, run two miles in under 26 minutes. Walk for 30 minutes the next day.
Step 4
Strike the ground with the ball of your foot, not your heel. This increases your ability to generate power with every step. This also limits the impact on your joints. The muscle of your calf will limit the abuse your knee joints take.
Tips and Warnings
- Your first training day sets your pace for the week, this number should always be improving. Your second day increases your ability to maintain speed for longer periods of time by improving your lactate threshold, or the rate at which your body clears away waste products and oxygenates your muscle tissue. Your last run increases your tolerance for training volume.
- Drink plenty of water before training.
References
- "USA Track & Field Coaching Manual"; USA Track & Field; 1999
- "Physiology of Sport and Exercise, Fourth Edition"; Dr. Jack H. Wilmore, et al.; 2007
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