Help with running 2.4km in under 11:13.

So I recently decided to follow my dream and applied for the Royal Navy, the catch? I'm twenty years old and have been smoking/drinking for seven/four years and I've kicked both habits. I've been nicotine clean for 18 days but I still haven't seen the major improvement in my time as I would like. My last run came in at 13:02.3, the recruitment process is lengthy so I do have time on my side and I have the motivation. I've been informed that 'interval training' and running beyond 2.4km is the best way to shave the two minutes of my current time. Also the fitness test will be on a Dreadmill (treadmill) and if someone could tell me if it's any different then road (pavement) running it would be much appreciated. 

Comments

  • Make sure you do most of your runs at a steady pace that you could chat at.

    I'd do speed sessions no more than twice a week.



    2.4k is only 1.5 miles - so it should be easy to go over distance - just listen to your body and work on increasing the miles steadily.



    If you're carrying any extra weight - then losing that will help you too.
  • Thank you Cougie, my BMI is 18.7 so I'm not carrying any extra weight. Everytime I run my calf muscles ache, is this the latic acid or am I over-stretching these muscles? Think I'll have a couple of rest days then try to run 5K within 30 minutes which sounds quite do-able for me.

  • If you can find a hill between 200m and 600m in length then I would suggest trying some reps on that and add a run incorporating it all into 1 run with 3 stages. 

    1) 1 mile run easy pace

    2) between 2-4 hard, fast reps up with a slow easy jog back down between

    3) 1 mile run easy pace back

    Dont concentrate too much on running 2.4km in training. Aim for more

    Do a couple slower steady state 3-5 miles a week and do a couple of harder ones like the one mentioned

  • Point of information:

    No it's not lactic acid. Delayed onset muscle soreness is the result of fibre tears in muscles leading to an inflammatory response. This is a normal part of muscle adaptation to exercise and is to be expected.

    Lactic acid is removed from muscle within ten minutes after the cessation of effort. There is no evidence of a connection bewteen lactic acid in muscles and soreness.

    So yes, you are straining your calves a bit, don't let it get too painful. Injury will cost you more time than having a session that feels a bit too easy.

  • Plenty of hills in the countryside, I know I have to be able to run further then 2.4Km. So when it comes to the test I can say to myself I've ran five miles, 1.5 is a piece of p**s. Thanks for that Bucket List, I've just had a look and notice that micro fibre tears release chemicals which promote repair which in turn makes the muscle stronger over time. I've pretty much gone from just walking to running 1.5 miles overnight so my muscles aren't used to that sort of effort. 

  • So I went to the doctors to get advice on giving up smoking and she done my BMI which was 20, I'm 173cm and weigh 60KG so I've put on abit of weight since my last visit which was about three years ago. I've been running one mile runs every day with a rest on Sundays and going to gradually step up distance every couple of weeks. When I first started I ran 7:23.8 and my last mile came in at 6:47.4. Well below the 7:28 mile pace required to run 2.4km in 11:13, just need to build up my stamina and I've got 6-8 months to do so, so I'm fairly confident about the Pre-joining fitness test. #Progress. 

Sign In or Register to comment.