Tips for the Mile CFA

classof2022

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I am a junior. I have been working on the CFA because I am going to USNA Seminar in June. I am having a hard time with endurance because I worry I am not going to get a good time so I run faster, but then lose energy. Any good tips for endurance? I did a lap w a 1:50 time and was huffing and puffing. If you're talking like a 9-10 minute mile I could do it no problem.
Please help!
 
Hi! Best way to increase your endurance is to run everyday - try running a mile at a consistent pace as you don't want to run so hard in the first lap so you can't finish the rest. Other variations could be
4 laps each at your hardest with a break in-between
2 laps break and then another 2.
Horseshoes (sprint the straightaway and jog the curve)
Vary your exercises and remember to stretch and drink water to prevent injuries.
If you do this consistently you should be able to start cutting down at your time - we do it each season for Field Hockey and our times drop about a minute in the first week.
 
@blue_murr4 's sprint drills with help with your mile pace, I used the same drills and moved from a consistent 11 min mile to a 7-ish mile in the matter of 6 weeks. For endurance there are 3 main types of runs that "runners" do:

1. Long Run- Try upping your mileage (carefully to prevent injury)- try doing a 3 mile long run once a week to build up endurance. Keep in mind you should be running this slow enough to be conversational speed but fast enough to be "working hard" if that makes sense.

2. Tempo runs are great for helping out with pace. There are two main options if you have a treadmill you can use that or you can make your own playlist! If you look up "running tempo songs" you can build your own playlist using Spotify (For FREE!) that helps you pace out a run. I have several lists ranging from 13 min mile to 8:30 min mile to help me.

****3. Use interval running (fartlek's for the running geeks) to help out with the fatigue during a run. Using a tabata timer app or a HIIT timer you can track the intervals on your phone (if you carry one on a run) or use a watch. There are several time variations; 1min run-2min jog-3min walk (repeat 3-5times), or 1min run-2min jog (repeat 10times)

Also calculate how fast you want to run the mile- if your aim is 7:00 you want a 400 (a lap) to be in 1:44 (here is a pace chart http://www.gulfwinds.org/Training/Track Interval Pace Calculator.pdf ). When you know your goal it is a lot easier to plan for success. Most importantly don't forget to strength train as well. This is something that I did not do and ended up with a IT band/quad injury that kept me from running for 6 months and I have only recently gotten back into the running groove. Try switching your training up too- biking and jump roping are great for rest days.
 
I am a junior. I have been working on the CFA because I am going to USNA Seminar in June. I am having a hard time with endurance because I worry I am not going to get a good time so I run faster, but then lose energy. Any good tips for endurance? I did a lap w a 1:50 time and was huffing and puffing. If you're talking like a 9-10 minute mile I could do it no problem.
Please help!

XC runner here. I'm not sure what the max score for girls is as far as a mile, but if you run 1:50 a lap that should be pretty good. However, this'll feel pretty hard considering you've already done all the other exercises. Interval training will help, upping the mileage per week will help, stretching, drinking water, training, everything really.

As a general rule, or at least, what we do is 3-5 miles per day. You can allocate these miles differently for each run. For example, say you're doing a speed workout and you're only really running a mile or two as your actual run. Up the warmup and cool down time to maybe 10-13 minutes each. If you're doing a 4 mile distance run, 800 for a warmup suffices (I wouldn't do less than an 800 though, or else you wont stretch out enough).

DO NOT forget to stretch and hydrate, this is really important for running fast. It'll make you feel a lot better. The placebo effect is real, too. So if you have some kind of lucky socks or something, definitely wear them.

As far as the psychology of the run, think of it this way. Your first and last laps will be the fastest laps by default; mentally you're already pushing yourself to go faster. The second lap is where you fall into a groove. Now, the third lap will be the hardest one. You have to mentally tell yourself to bust that lap, because while you may feel like you're going the same speed, you're actually slowing down. So mentally you have to go faster to keep up your speed. Basically, don't worry too much about your first and last laps, as these ones'll be the ones youre already going to bust out fast because they seem the most important. The second lap isn't too much of a problem either cuz you still have gas and youre kinda falling into a groove. It's the third one that's important to push on.

The above posters already gave advice as to workouts and runs to do, so I just gave some input as far as race attitude and such. Good luck!
 
I am a junior. I have been working on the CFA because I am going to USNA Seminar in June. I am having a hard time with endurance because I worry I am not going to get a good time so I run faster, but then lose energy. Any good tips for endurance? I did a lap w a 1:50 time and was huffing and puffing. If you're talking like a 9-10 minute mile I could do it no problem.
Please help!

Honestly, the only way to get better at running is... running. If you want to build endurance and you don't already run a decent amount every week, try to figure out a way to get between 15-20 miles in per week of running (maybe start out with 10 your first week of training). Those miles should all just be easy continuous runs. Doing speed/ interval repeats is pointless when you don't have a base to work off.

Once you've done that for a couple or a few weeks, maintain your mileage and start to add in like 2 tempo runs a week. Make them between 1.5 - 2 miles. You could also maybe add in like a 4x400 workout at race pace once a week after a month and a half of this but before then you really wouldn't benefit from it more than you would from a tempo run, especially if you lack endurance.

If you follow this for 2-3 months, I'm sure you'll see big improvements.
 
I agree with all of the above posts. There is not secret to getting your mile time down. All you have to do is run while pushing yourself.

This is what i did when I was a competitive mile runner.
Monday: 5 and 1/2 mile run
Tuesday: 4 miles. 1 at a time with a ten minutes of rest in between.
Wednesday: 6 400 meter runs.
Thursday: 4 800s
Friday: I would try to get my personal record.

This is probably a little extreme for what you are needing to do, but you should develop a plan where you are running longer distances a few times a week and sprinting shorter distances a few times a week. If you push yourself, you will get the results you want. If your doing a 9 minute mile right now, I would encourage you to try to get your time down to around 7.
 
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