I Want to Improve My 2.2 km Time

by Sikander
(Faridabad, Haryana, India)

I am running 2.2 km in 10 minutes. How can I decrease my time down to 6.5 minutes?

Answer by Dominique:

Hi Sikander,
Thanks for your question about how to improve your running.

I am convinced I can help you decrease the time you currently use for your 2.2k.

How much you can improve is dependent on your talent and how much work you are willing to put into it.

6.5 minutes is pretty fast, faster than many people can run. At that type of speed, this doesn't just become a question of hard work, so it may be a too tough goal to beat.

My recipe for getting there (or getting as close as possible):
1. Run regularly and build your base
2. Add in some speedwork
3. Do a time trial now and again

Run Regularly and Build Your Base

Run regularly, at least four times a week. Focus on slower running and build up your mileage. It would be great if you were able to do a long run of 80-90 minutes eventually.

Why run so long when you want to just run 2.2k? The key reason is that in order to be able to run a fast 2.2k, you need to be able to run fast for long. Not just 30 seconds or a minute, but for minutes and minutes on end. This requires endurance. And a great way to build up endurance is by running easy and long.

Check out the base running page for further info. Another useful page that covers how to go about increasing your mileage can be found here.

Add in Some Speedwork

After you have build up a regular running routine and you are able to run 80-90 minutes non-stop, you should work on increasing your lactate acid threshold by throwing in a weekly tempo run.

In addition to that, do a weekly interval run. It is best to play with the length of your intervals, so one day you do 400s, the next week you do 800s etc.

Do a Time Trial - Now and Again

Test your 2.2k time every so often. Maybe test it every 4-6 weeks.

That may test your patience, but when you are establishing a running routine and starting to run regularly, it is reasonable to expect a bit of improvement every 6 weeks or so.

Test yourself every week, and inevitably you are going to find that you are not improving. And every time you test yourself, is a day you do not train. So try not to impact your training too much by doing too many time trials!

So, the bare basics of running are pretty simple: run regularly, build up your base, then add speed work. This should enable you to become faster over time.

I hope this helps and gets you towards that goal of running 2.2k in 6.5 minutes!

Kind regards,
Dominique