fast mile time in <2 weeks?

[neocpp]

Hey guys,

I've been running for a while now, but I've decided to join a running club and they want me on their mile relay team. The problem is, it's in <2 weeks, and I'm not even close to racing condition.

Anyone have any tips for a lightning fast return to form? I don't expect a PR, but within 10 seconds would be nice.

Here's some more info:

I'm not out of shape, but I've been dangerously close to over training for a while now if I haven't already been hit with a mild form of it. Whenever I do a hard workout I take longer than usual to warm up, but once I do I can usually do it fine. BUT, I still feel tired from that workout a day or two later, which normally would not happen. If I just stick to the standard 7-7:30 pace longer runs, that seems fine and does not push me over the edge.

Anyways, my plan initially was to recover for a week or two and then begin actual training for races. When I showed up for the running club though, they really wanted me on the team after I mentioned my mile PR. I said "I'll probably run a lot slower than that," but they wanted me anyways and I feel like it would be poor form to back out.

Basically, the choice I have right now is between recovery and speedwork (or if there's some other option I'm not seeing, let me know). I'm not sure which would be more beneficial at this point. I know for the long term, recovery would be it, but I don't know if recovery will help that much compared to a few fast 1600s for something only 12 days out. Even though I did very little speedwork when I hit my mile PR (I would just run a fast mile every Friday), it still took a few weeks to get used to running fast again.

Thanks,
neocpp

 

[RagingBITCH]

At two weeks out, there's probably not very much you can do to actually improve lactate threshold. Your best bet might be going out to the track and doing a magic mile to see what you're currently capable of now, and setting expectations appropriately. If you are looking for help with stride rate and getting that "feel" back, I'd look at running a ladder on the track - try to help narrow down and refine your stride length/rate for the various distances. If you feel confident that you can run a X:XX mile, then go out and test yourself with mile repeats at X:XX + 15 seconds per minute mile.

What you left out was how long ago your mile PR was, what weather conditions, was it on the track or road, etc. If you ran it in 50 degree weather on a track, and it'll be 80 degrees in 2 weeks, it renders trying to PR moot.

Really, it wouldn't be in bad form to approach the club and say you know you aren't in PR form. If they say that's fine and you're still better than the alternative even at 75% of peak shape, then go out and run what you are capable of knowing you were transparent to begin with.

 

[Miramonti]

Since you only have a couple weeks, and you don't want to tear yourself down right before the race, in actuality you have less than 2 weeks. I'd recommend speed work such as some workouts this week with 1/2 dozen 1/4 miles, if not a few more. They will be hell, as this distance always is if you push yourself. You have to listen to your body to determine how much you can do and how quickly you recover from the first workout. You could also take a day and do some 220/200's. Also, eat very healthy, which I'm sure is nothing new to you.

 

[SWScorch]

I would back down the training a bit to recover, and do some strides or easy speedwork to get the pop back in your legs; like 200s or maybe 400s at or around mile pace (date pace, not PR pace) with lots of recovery.

 

[neocpp]

At two weeks out, there's probably not very much you can do to actually improve lactate threshold. Your best bet might be going out to the track and doing a magic mile to see what you're currently capable of now, and setting expectations appropriately. If you are looking for help with stride rate and getting that "feel" back, I'd look at running a ladder on the track - try to help narrow down and refine your stride length/rate for the various distances. If you feel confident that you can run a X:XX mile, then go out and test yourself with mile repeats at X:XX + 15 seconds per minute mile.

What you left out was how long ago your mile PR was, what weather conditions, was it on the track or road, etc. If you ran it in 50 degree weather on a track, and it'll be 80 degrees in 2 weeks, it renders trying to PR moot.

Really, it wouldn't be in bad form to approach the club and say you know you aren't in PR form. If they say that's fine and you're still better than the alternative even at 75% of peak shape, then go out and run what you are capable of knowing you were transparent to begin with.

Thanks, I don't expect to run a PR mile but I was hoping there was some way to "get close" since I'm almost certain the strength is there.

I actually ran my mile PR about a couple months ago on an unusually warm and windy day on the track. I expect conditions to be similar when I do this thing, sans wind even. I just haven't done anything fast stuff since then, up until about a week ago. I hammered a decent 400 (55s) as well as an okay 8x400 workout (see response to jjsole), but my legs did not feel very good for a while after that.

I'm torn between trying a ladder vs trying a magic mile (not sure if I have enough recovery days to do both, it would be close I think). I'm leaning towards a ladder tuned for times ~10-15 seconds slower than my mile PR, since it should give me a range of speeds. If that feels terrible, I'll cut back some more.

Yea, even if I run a tragic 25s slower than my PR, I would still be "good enough" to pull my weight for the team -- they stated this themselves, although obviously I won't be very happy with it. I joined right after a mile time trial, which would have been very helpful in determining what I should go for :/ I'm pretty sure I won't run slower than that, but I'm actually not 100% sure.

Since you only have a couple weeks, and you don't want to tear yourself down right before the race, in actuality you have less than 2 weeks. I'd recommend speed work such as some workouts this week with 1/2 dozen 1/4 miles, if not a few more. They will be hell, as this distance always is if you push yourself. You have to listen to your body to determine how much you can do and how quickly you recover from the first workout. You could also take a day and do some 220/200's. Also, eat very healthy, which I'm sure is nothing new to you.

Yep, this is actually how I've determined I need to recover. Last Thursday did eight 400s with 200m recovery at ~71s each (actually was more like 75/73/71/70/70/70/69/69), and my legs didn't feel fresh again until yesterday. This is NOT normal for me -- I expect soreness Friday if I'm not used to the pace, but I should have been fine by Saturday. However, the times surprised me since that is only a little slower than what I would do before my previous mile PR, which is about 5 seconds slower than my current one. I tested out the first few at a slower pace than I would have liked, but since those felt okay I ramped it up a bit. I'm hoping this means I can still zip around the track for just 4 laps, but you never know.

I would back down the training a bit to recover, and do some strides or easy speedwork to get the pop back in your legs; like 200s or maybe 400s at or around mile pace (date pace, not PR pace) with lots of recovery.

Yea, the mileage will be falling off a cliff this and the next few weeks. Those workouts have been what I had in mind, but I'm liking Raging's suggestion of a ladder to give me that feel at distances closer to the mile. 200/400 is so painful without teammates :/

 

[Miramonti]

It sounds like you're in a great position to do well in this race, especially considering it just fell in your lap without much warning. You're certainly not at a higher risk of injury which is important. You may or may not get your PR but I wouldn't count it out, as long as you're not sore and/or depleted at race time. Next time, when you have more control over preparing for a race event, you can adjust your training appropriately to try and peak at the right time.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Thanks, I don't expect to run a PR mile but I was hoping there was some way to "get close" since I'm almost certain the strength is there.

I actually ran my mile PR about a couple months ago on an unusually warm and windy day on the track. I expect conditions to be similar when I do this thing, sans wind even. I just haven't done anything fast stuff since then, up until about a week ago. I hammered a decent 400 (55s) as well as an okay 8x400 workout (see response to jjsole), but my legs did not feel very good for a while after that.

I'm torn between trying a ladder vs trying a magic mile (not sure if I have enough recovery days to do both, it would be close I think). I'm leaning towards a ladder tuned for times ~10-15 seconds slower than my mile PR, since it should give me a range of speeds. If that feels terrible, I'll cut back some more.

Yea, even if I run a tragic 25s slower than my PR, I would still be "good enough" to pull my weight for the team -- they stated this themselves, although obviously I won't be very happy with it. I joined right after a mile time trial, which would have been very helpful in determining what I should go for :/ I'm pretty sure I won't run slower than that, but I'm actually not 100% sure.



Yep, this is actually how I've determined I need to recover. Last Thursday did eight 400s with 200m recovery at ~71s each (actually was more like 75/73/71/70/70/70/69/69), and my legs didn't feel fresh again until yesterday. This is NOT normal for me -- I expect soreness Friday if I'm not used to the pace, but I should have been fine by Saturday. However, the times surprised me since that is only a little slower than what I would do before my previous mile PR, which is about 5 seconds slower than my current one. I tested out the first few at a slower pace than I would have liked, but since those felt okay I ramped it up a bit. I'm hoping this means I can still zip around the track for just 4 laps, but you never know.


Yea, the mileage will be falling off a cliff this and the next few weeks. Those workouts have been what I had in mind, but I'm liking Raging's suggestion of a ladder to give me that feel at distances closer to the mile. 200/400 is so painful without teammates :/

Dood...55s 400M? Damn...that's pretty swift. I think a lot of my response got answered by your post - didn't know you were already in tune/have been doing speedwork as of late. It sounds like you know what you are capable of at this point for a mile...and your legs are feeling pretty beat up.

I'd (now) suggest resting up. Make sure you hydrate well and eat plenty of complex carbs and protein. You said your legs haven't recovered well lately - have you gotten enough carbs/protein the past week?

You might still do the ladder workout but cut out about 1/3 of the volume - really just dial in a certain pace. Run mostly easy to keep the legs loose, but throw in 400/800M strides into the middle of your workouts to make sure you can hold pace. (IE, mini fartleks I guess) Good luck...let us know how you do!

 

[neocpp]

Just an update, I ended up doing a 600m race right before the mile as well. My mile was fairly poor for someone with my capability (5:04, I split it terribly as well starting out with a 68 and getting much worse over time), but the 600 went pretty well. Flew through 400 in ~53 and finished in 1:26 to break the previous record for this meet -- but I still got beat by a guy that ran 1:23! I think I might have been able to extract another second or so if I had done the 400 a bit slower, but I expected to win so I just chased the other guy and stayed pretty close for most of it.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Yea...I'd still kill to have a 5:04 mile. Least you rocked that 600m, but that being said - you had two events, he had one. Great job regardless man!