The Need for Speed

Can you run at a 5 minute mile pace? I can. Well, perhaps not for a mile, but if you want to run at a 5 minute mile pace, you need to practice that. You need to teach your body to run at that pace, and how it feels.

The easiest place to find and train for that pace, is on a track. Yesterday I went to East Stroudsburg University's track. I used to do it quite often but I have not run on their track in over a decade.

So how do you train for a 5 minute mile pace? Well, let's start with a little math. On a track there are 4 laps to a mile. That means if you go around the track 4 times in 5 minutes, that is a 5 minute mile. However, if you can not do that, you can still find and train your body for that pace. Perhaps you can run 2 laps in 2 1/2 minutes. This is much easier, and your body will learn the pace. Still too hard? How about 1 lap in 1 1/4 minutes? That's 75 seconds to get around the track one time. This in NOT an unattainable goal. It is not easy, but it is not impossible. Even a 1/2 of a lap in 37 seconds, or the straights (110 meters) in 18 seconds. Thats is fairly easy if you run with any regularity. Once you find the pace, the more often you run at that pace, the more ingrained in your "muscle memory" it will become.

This is teaching your body a pace, so you can build up to a 5 minute mile. Do not sprint as fast as you can. Pace yourself at one of the distances above. Teach your body to run at that pace (or whatever pace YOU decide), then you can add distance at that pace to your runs. With practice and time, you may just find yourself running all of your miles at a five minute pace.

Be active, be happy