From couch to 2 mile run (muscle, treadmill, build, fast)

[Philosophizer]

Need some advice on how to whip myself into shape quickly. I've pretty much been strength training the last 8 months and totally ignoring cardio work. Now I'm wanting to become a military officer/pilot and I need to get my two mile time in the 14:30 range according to my recruiter.

I ran a 7 minute mile yesterday and felt absolutely gassed afterward. What's the best way to go about training for a two mile distance at that time? If someone can develop a routine for me to stick to, that would be awesome. I'd like to be able to make time within a month from now and I'm willing to put in the work to do it, even if it means laying off the weights for a while.

[Geezerrunner]

I would follow a training plan for a 5k race, which is likely to be a twelve week plan.
you have to allow enough time to develop the stamina you need to maintain your 7 minute mile pace for longer. there are plenty of these plans available free of charge on line.
If you really have to do this so soon then concentrate on running slower for longer distances, gradually working up to about 5-10 miles at a slow, easy pace. You could try one day a week doing "intervals" of a much shorter distance, say 400 meters, running much faster, with a rest period of about a minute between them. Do a slow jog for 15 minutes to warm up, stretch to avoid pulling a leg muscle, then do the intervals. Start with three or four and gradually increase to eight. Try to run them in about 1 minute 30 seconds each, which is 6 minute mile pace. This will make your target pace feel easier.

But really, the problem is you are expecting results too quickly, take more time and this should not be difficult if you are young and healthy- I will be 64 next month and I can do two miles in less than 14:30.

[*Sixy*]

Whenever I want to increase my speed I do intervals. It has always worked really well for me

Basically, run at your normal pace, and mix in a few faster intervals throughout your run. Eventually you won't feel winded at a quicker pace...then rinse and repeat.

[wutitiz]

We had this exact thread (well almost) before. Read thru this thread, and you will find all the answers you need.

//www.city-data.com/forum/exerc...iles-17-a.html

OP successfully completed his test...and you can too.

[wutitiz]

I just noticed that your requirements are tougher than the other guy. You must be applying for a fairly elite unit. 7:15 min/mile is not crazy, but I think it's faster than most Mil/LE tests that I have heard of.

The good news is you are already in shape and are presumably not a smoker, unlike the other guy. 30 days is not much time, but if you can already run a 7 min. mile, I think it might be doable.

First, before any training session, warm up with 10-20 minutes of very slow jogging.

As Sixy said, to build speed you need to do intervals. Intervals are running fast for a short distance, say 400 meters, then slowly for a while to get your heartrate back down, and then fast again for 400 meters. Repeat this over and over, say 10 times. Since you are new to it, obviously you want to start with just 2-3 repeats and work up. Don't do it more than once or twice per week. As you undoubtedly know improvement takes place when you are recovering and resting, not during the exercise itself. If you have access to a treadmill, use it for intervals--it will give you an accurate gauge to go by. Or you can get a Garmin watch (GPS) to gauge your intervals.

The key to building your aerobic capacity is longer slower runs, so once per week just run as far as you can handle at a slow pace, maybe 9 or 10 minutes/mile.

Then once per week train for your 'goal race.' You already did one mile in 7 minutes, so next week try for 1.25 miles, then the following week 1.5, and so on. If you can stick reasonably close to that schedule, you'll have your goal in 4 weeks.

[Mandalorian]

I would focus on two areas:

1. Speed. Go to your local High School/Middle School/College track and run some 400 and 800 repeats. Set a goal and rest 1-2 minutes in between each one.

2. Endurance. Do some longer runs. Since you only have to run 2mi for the military, do some 4-5 miles runs. That way 2mi will feel like nothing.

[wutitiz]

If you have the option to put off your application, use it. Thirty days is nothing when it comes to distance running. You can really only expect measurable improvement once every three days, so 30 days translates to 10 cycles of improvement. If you try to push it, you risk injury.