cfa mile times

center56

5-Year Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2010
Messages
129
My DS is a center on the football team and plays defense on the lacrosse team. Not exactly a runner! Anybody have any insight on what he will need to do on the mile to pass the CFA. That's really the only area i would expect him to have trouble with. He may to work on running this summer to improve from his last timed mile which was 8:20. Thanks for any insight.
 
Running 3 days in a row (1-3 miles, you can mix it up) as hard as you can then taking an off day has worked pretty well for me. Just keep repeating that cycle. The rest day is important after a few days of hard running because it allows the microtears in the myocardial tissue to heal itself and grow larger and stronger in the process. (Thank you honors anatomy!)

If he's going to SLS there may not be enough time to see significant improvement as changing one's mile time takes serious time and effort. However, if he plans to take the CFA later, have him commit to a plan and stick to it.
 
My DS is a center on the football team and plays defense on the lacrosse team. Not exactly a runner! Anybody have any insight on what he will need to do on the mile to pass the CFA. That's really the only area i would expect him to have trouble with. He may to work on running this summer to improve from his last timed mile which was 8:20. Thanks for any insight.

He will need a much better mile time, unfortunately. While there is no "published" standard, your best bet is a sub-7:00 mile. For his age group, the APFT minimum 2-mile time is 15:54. His current pace would put him at 16:40, which is failing even for old guys like me (16:36 minimum).

PM me if you need more help.
 
Yes I think the time will improve with more running. I will encourage that activity for sure, Thanks Scout! USMA2016, yes he is at SS now. Took on too much water prior to the run which gave him a lot of trouble over the last quarter mile. He does have a little time to improve prior to session 3 of NASS.
 
Yes I think the time will improve with more running. I will encourage that activity for sure, Thanks Scout! USMA2016, yes he is at SS now. Took on too much water prior to the run which gave him a lot of trouble over the last quarter mile. He does have a little time to improve prior to session 3 of NASS.

Scout is correct that your DS will need to improve his time and is a good source for advice. The number needed is not published but def sub-8:00 minute. Not everyone that attends WP is a cross-country runner. My DS is also a FB player is not the most gifted runner...but maxed on a number of the other portions of the CFA. You will see most of the questions regarding the CFA on the basketball throw. Some kids who can run all day but who don't have much core strength struggle with the throw. Max out on what he does best and work really hard on the running.
 
Hi,

When I first started track, my mile time was 10:00+ and I couldn't finish without walking. Now I run sub-7:00 consistently. Point is, no matter where you start, or your natural ability (I have none; I look like a baby giraffe when I run) you can improve to a respectable time.

What I did was for the first 6 weeks, run 3 days a week, building from 2 miles a day to 5 miles a day and take the third week off (it's common for injuries to occur there.) Once you can run 15 miles/wk safely, it's time to throw in speedwork, which is going to require some reading to personalize it properly.

Stew Smith has a strikingly similar plan to mine here: It's Running Plan II
 
Back
Top