How to Run a Faster Mile
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Wanting to improve your mile time is something all runners reach for at some point in their career.
Since Roger Bannister, a 25-year old British student, broke the four-minute mile in 1954, many runners have been wanting to run a faster mile. Whether you are on the high school running team, training for a marathon, or simply trying a new workout, learning how to run a faster mile can be super beneficial.
Improving your mile pace can seem like a difficult task at first, but there are some simple steps you can follow to improve your mile time. In this guide, we are going to show you how to run a faster mile to improve your mile time and get more out of every run.
What Is Your Current Mile Time?
Before you can begin our training plan to run your fastest mile, you first need to know your current mile time. When you know how fast you already run, it will be easier to get into training to improve the pace.
To work out your current mile time, you need to do a timed trial on a track using a meter to determine your current pace. This will give you a baseline for working out what kind of training you need to do to improve your time, as well as giving you something you can mark your progress against.
Now that you know what pace you are currently working at, it is time to get training so you can run your fastest mile.
How To Improve Your Mile Time
There are various things that you can include in your training sessions that will help you run a faster mile, as well as contributing to other aspects of your fitness such as leg strength and overall stamina.
1) Interval Training
High-intensity interval training is one of the most effective ways to improve your pace, and it can also be a fun way to work out too. It requires you to incorporate various intervals into your standard race training, which can improve leg strength and increase your overall time for running a mile.
This kind of training has lots of benefits and is a good way to improve your overall fitness while also speeding up your minute mile pace.
For this, once a week, incorporate speed repeats into your run. This can work when running on a track or treadmill as it is a fairly straightforward method. It requires you to reduce your rest time in between the intervals to improve your stamina.
Following your warm-up, alternate between running at full speed for either half a lap or the full lap and easy jogging for the same distance. This light jogging will work as your rest period while still keeping the muscles in action, which ensures you are working on your core strength.
The intervals between your full effort run and light jogging will decrease over time as your stamina and speed increase.
As a guide, if you are working with half-lap runs, start with 6 repeats for the intervals and try to work your way up to eight or ten. For full laps, start with 2 or 3 laps and a recovery period in between. Try to work your way up to intervals of 5 or 6 repeats.
2) Improve Endurance
All runners who are working to push their limits and run a faster mile need to improve their endurance.
When going on a long run, your body will be used to handling your peak speed and will expect intervals of recovery. This means, if you want to do a faster run, then you are going to have to start by running longer than a mile.
This might seem counter-productive, but you need to run longer than a mile during your workouts to get your endurance up, and leg strength increased, which will then help you run faster during smaller intervals.
For this, you need to work out your average running session distance and what the longest race is within your training plan. This is something that you need to work at in a week interval, adding one more mile race each week until you reach your goal. For example, if your current longest run during the week is 3 miles, push yourself to add one more mile to each weeks training plan until your longest average is now 7 miles or 8 miles.
Adding miles to your longest distances during the week can increase your total mileage by 10%. This is a technique used in marathon training and other forms of aerobic exercises because it is highly effective at improving your overall pace and stamina. This kind of training can be done during a jog, riding a bike, or other forms of aerobic workouts to improve core strength.
With additional effort, your weekly training plan should now include one long run per week with shorter runs on days in between for recovery. This is a way to keep you on track for running your fastest mile while also improving your cardiovascular fitness and strength.
Each session will help you run faster and ensure a steady heart rate when doing so.
3) Work On Running Form
Training your body and working on your run form is another effective way of getting faster with every mile. Putting effort into your form and focusing on your posture during jogs will enhance movement during your workouts and contributes to running faster.
This is something that can be easily included in your daily run, as you will need to spend a few minutes before every jog practicing the proper running form. This is something you can focus on during warm-up drills, focusing on different parts of the body to ensure the correct form before running.
A way to work on your body form during a run is to focus on your stride turnover, which is the rate at which your feet hit the pavement during a run. Putting energy into the way your feet hit the pavement is a way to improve your pace during a mile race while also working on the posture of your body for the best fitness benefits.
A lot of people who are new to running have bad form because they have a stride turnover that is too slow. This makes every run longer and tougher on the body.
If you are wanting run a fast mile, then you need to shorten your steps to improve your overall pace.
How To Improve Stride Turnover
Stride turnover can be a way to improve the posture of your runner body during a workout, which in turn can make you run faster in every race. However, it is also a technique that can be used to improve your pace meter within its own right, which is why we need to target some tips to help you improve your turnover too.
This is something that a coach can support you with, although your running community can also be a great help when it comes to improving your running stride too. Both your coach and running community will recommend that you practice running with shorter, quicker strides.
Many runners, especially those who are doing their first-mile race, tend to have a turnover that is too slow, and this could be why you cannot improve your time mile. To push yourself to run faster, you first need to know what you are working with.
Before you can practice improving your turnover and running posture, you can work out how fast you are running currently by:
1) Identify your current rate
This can be done by running a standard 5K at your normal pace and count how many times your right foot hits the pavement for one minute.
2) Double the number
Double the number of times that your meter counted for your right foot hitting the pavement, and this will give your average turnover rate
3) Using the number
This number can be improved using running drills when training for a race, and it is something you can practice every week to increase your mile speed.
Like with interval training, improving your turnover can be done in one-minute running intervals. Run at your standard speed for 60 to 90 seconds. On the next lap, focus on your stride and try to increase your foot strike count by at least one every time.
During the several repeats of these laps, try to increase your target strike by at least one every lap until you have increased it by 8 x or more.
A heart rate monitor can be a useful tool to have during this training, as identifying your strides when your heart rate is lowest can show what the most efficient stride rate is for you. This can then be used to help you preserve energy during a run so you can go the distance at high speed.
Why Running Fast Is Good Exercise
Every runner will express how beneficial this kind of workout is for the entire body, but if you have not hit the track in a while, then you might need convincing.
Taking the time to train for a mile race could be the best way to reach your fitness goals because of the various parts of the body that are involved. Running, of course, requires leg strength and tone, but it can also be an effective workout for your core. It is a way to strengthen muscles across the body and can also help you stay trim, which is why almost every runner you meet is slender.
Running is something that can be done by anyone who can do so, as you can work at your own pace and build up your strength over time. This is why those who want to run a mile faster than they have before need to train before they can reach their target speed. Running is a form of exercise that requires constant attention, and you should attempt to complete the same training plan every week if you want to see results.
Any form of distance running can be a great way to get a full-body workout, but it is something you need to take care of when doing too. This is why every runner requires rest periods, whether this is a rest day or rest intervals within their training sessions. If you are going to follow the tips given in this article to run a faster mile, make sure that you are also following the guide for rest and are having rest periods to allow your muscles to repair and strengthen.
Running can be an excellent form of exercise for everyone if it is done safely.
Conclusion
You can run for miles at your own pace, but for a lot of people, this becomes boring over time. Once you have reached your goals, when it comes to the kind of distance you want to run, it is time to get working on your speed.
With the tips in this article, such as rest intervals and working on your strike meter, you should be able to complete a mile run faster than ever before.
Working on your running pace is something that requires practice and persistence, which is why this guide does not include any fast-track tips. Your fitness is something that requires consistency for it to improve, and the same rules apply when it comes to improving your speed on the track or treadmill. To be able to run a good distance at a fast speed, you need to have strength in your legs and core as well as the stamina to keep going.
Make sure that within your training, you are allowing time for rest and recovery, as this can affect how long it will take for you to reach your goals.
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