How to Improve My Running Endurance and Speed - 1.5 Mile Physical Test

by Esther
(Edinburgh, Scotland)

I am hoping to run 1.5 miles in less than 9:40 after a 0.5 mile warm up to qualify in the necessary time for the TA career I desire - the paras.

I currently participate in several sports actively - skiing, taekwando, canoeing - and frequently attend circuits classes and go to the gym - although my preferred pieces of equipment are the excercise bike, rowing machine and cross trainer. I also do weight work several times a week.

However my level of cardiovascular fitness is still quite poor and I find myself unable to maintain even a low speed e.g 6kph for more than a couple of minutes.

What would you advise? - Time is not an issue as I intent to hold off on applying till I have reached the necessary fitness standards to attain qualification level. However, the sooner the better!

Answer by Dominique:
Hi there,
Thanks for your question about the 1.5 mile army physical test.

It sounds like you are really active. Which is good. And you are willing to give yourself time to get to your goal. Too often I get last-minute questions in which somebody likes to get the secret to shaving off minutes of their time in the final week of training. There is not much I can do at that point. Frustrating for everybody involved.

Based on your situation I would chart the following plan of actions:

1. Get Used to Running Regularly
2. Build Up Your Endurance
3. Then Build Up Some More... and Add Faster Running

Get Used to Running Regularly

I am a bit amazed that the running is such a struggle for you, especially given the work you do on the exercise bike, rowing machine and cross trainer. They all allow you to work on your cardiovascular health and fitness.

It might just be that you need a bit more practice running. It wouldn't surprise me if suddenly you get this breakthrough moment and take off from there on in.

I would make sure you run at least three times a week. That's really the minimum. Depending on how well you progress, you may need to add more running to your schedule. I wouldn't just add the running on top of all the other work you are doing. There are only so many hours in a day or week. You may have to adjust how much time you spend doing other activities. But when you want to be in the paras, then you are looking for all-round fitness, not just running.

Build Up Your Endurance

The best way to start running is to do some easy running. This is basically running at reasonably slow pace. It's sometimes described as conversational pace. If you were to be running with a friend, you would be able to have a conversation with them while running.

Also, don't be afraid to walk in between. If running is really hard for you, take some walking breaks in between. At this stage I would really like you to focus on the total time spent running in a session. When you get exhausted, walk for a few minutes, then run some more. Easily build up the distance. Also see the increasing mileage safely page. Try to get to a stage at which you are able to quite easily cover 5k or so. Not fast, I'd like for you to just get really comfortable with that distance.

Then Build Up Some More... And Add Faster Running

Once you can quite easily cover 5k in every run, do two things:

Build Up Some More...
Your goal of 1.5 miles in 9 min 40 sec is pretty fast. You need to really get a strong endurance. It is different for everybody, but I think getting to a point where you are able to run ~80-90 minutes is a really good place to be in terms of endurance. Don't be alarmed, you don't need to do that every run. One run a week, go long (and easy). In the other runs, try to run an easy 45-60 minute run. Start adding some strides to the end of these runs to get familiar with fast running, that's not necessarily very hard. Once you have gotten to this level, it is then time for the final stage...

...And Add Faster Running
When that endurance is really, really strong, it is a good time to start adding faster runs. At this stage it would be great if you would be running four days per week. Then you have a nice balance of 1 long run, 2 easier runs and 1 faster run. This faster run can alternate between tempo running and intervals at first.

For a fast 1.5 mile run, you want to eventually get down to doing some good goal pace workouts. Generally speaking, the closer you get to your event, the more specific you want that running training to be. You really want to get familiar with that goal pace towards the end of your training campaign.

I hope that provides a way forward. A great approach here would be to build up that endurance. Don't know how long that may take, but you say you have time. So, for as long as it takes.

Then, for the final stretch, hire a running coach who works with you to set up a really targeted specific program just for you. There are plenty of good coaches around, but clearly, I hope you keep me in mind at that stage as well :) Just check out my running coaching packages for more information. I have helped plenty of 1.5 mile runners achieve their 1.5 mile test goals.

Best of luck!
Kind regards,
Dominique

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