Do I have what it takes to run a 4:24 mile? Let's find out

400m: 49.9r

500m: 1:06.4

800m: 1:52.7

1500m: 4:08

Mile: 4:31

3000m: 9:20

5000m: 16:10 (road)

15k: 52:40 (road)

Week ending in 10/29:

Sunday 8.4 miles easy @ 7:15

Evening 1000 yard swim

Monday 600m, 2400m, 600m, 2000m, 600m, 2400m, 600m, 2000m, 600m. 2min rest for all.

600's at 3k pace on track.

longer reps at about 5:38 pace and on a (kinda wet) grass loop.

600s: 1:49, 1:45, 1:42, 1:40, 1:41

Evening shakeout run: 2 miles @ 7:30 + Lift

Tuesday 8.7 miles on treadmill @ 7:20 pace. + 3 strides

Wednesday 7x1k with 200m jog rest. Couldn't get out of a comfort zone for the first 3.

3:28, 3:30, 3:30, 3:25, 3:20, 3:20, 3:19

3:24 average.

Thursday AM 2 miles easy @ 7:30

PM 9.1 miles easy @ 6:55

Friday 5 miles easy @ 7:40 pace

Saturday OFF

Week total: 55 miles

Week mileage was low because on Friday I decided to start my down week since I haven't had one in a long while. It'll skew mileage for this week and the next, but in the grand scheme of things its arbitrary. My knee has been bothering me, specifically when I sprint, so I haven't done any quality strides or sprint work in a bit. I'm trying to mediate it the best I can, hopefully it feels better soon.

Monday's workout was fun and I felt really good on the 600's

Wednesdays workout was by myself after a doctors appt. I felt like I could have done 10 1ks I felt so smooth and solid but it was starting to rain hard and the real feel was around 30 degrees, so I cut it short. Still happy with the workout, though.

Was going to double friday but I decided to just start my down week then instead of grinding through to sunday.

400m: 49.9r

500m: 1:06.4

800m: 1:52.7

1500m: 4:08

Mile: 4:31

3000m: 9:20

5000m: 16:10 (road)

15k: 52:40 (road)

Week Ending in 11/5:

Sunday 2.5 miles easy while cheering my old team on at conferences

Monday AM 5 miles easy + Hurdle Drills

PM 2 miles easy + Core

Tuesday Easy 6 miles + 400m realy leg in 51.5 and paced my friend to a 5:55 mile.

Wednesday 9.1 miles @ 7:05 pace + Hurdle drills

Thursday 3.5 miles easy + test strides. Not good.

Friday 6x800m with about 3min rest in about 2:25-2:28

Tried sprinting after, knee no good.

Saturday Off.

Week total: 35 miles

Alright so here's how it goes. Knee started to feel funny about 3 weeks ago. Couldn't pinpoint the source or anything. Couldn't figure out if it was from lifting or from my achilles issues or what (its on the opposite leg as my achilles issues). It was some tightness and slight pain on the inside (medial) portion of the back of my left knee. It didn't prevent me from running, but anything under 3k pace made it start to hurt, especially sprinting. After the down week and the lack of improvement I made in my knee (no lifting, extra stretching, etc), I decided to just take my break now instead of wait until the end of November. I saw the physical trainer on friday and he said he thinks my hips are out of place, making one leg and one hamstring longer than the other, placing strain on that knee. He worked my hips and said he wants to see me again Monday, so we'll see what he says.

I read some stuff on the Popliteal and some exercises to strengthen the area. I started that today, so hopefully this helps too.

My plan is to take about 5-7 days off from running. I'll probably start cross training sometime soon.

I've decided that if I want to pursue anything more than hobby jogging to some local road race 5k wins, I need to be serious with a lot of aspects. I'm going to start doing core and hip strengthening consistently, then slowly work into a more organized lifting routine. I'm going to do my best to double consistently when I start back up (after a week or two) just as a better way to recover and get into a routine of core and stretching.

Although this (I don't think) isn't a serious injury, I'm using this as a wake up call to get my ass in gear if I want to even come close to my goals. I will continue to update weekly or when questions are asked.

Thanks!

Keep up the grind. Respect.

400m: 49.9r

500m: 1:06.4

800m: 1:52.7

1500m: 4:08

Mile: 4:31

3000m: 9:20

5000m: 16:10 (road)

15k: 52:40 (road)

Week Ending in 11/12:

Sunday OFF

Monday OFF. Core stuff

Tuesday OFF

Wednesday Core + 15min on bike and 15min on elliptical. Avg HR 145

Thursday Test run 1 mile. Not good. Angrily did a hamstring exercise and a buuunch of calf raises.

Friday OFF. Calves insanely sore. Knee feels better for some reason??

Saturday Calves still sore but knee feels slightly better. Test run of 2.2 miles. Wasn't that bad. Finished at the gym and did some light weight hamstring (leg) curls and some more calf raises followed by some core work.

Went and biked for 20 minutes in the evening. Avg HR 153.

Week totals: 3.2 miles of running

11 miles of biking

15min on elliptical.

Haha so I've been having a lot of ups and downs recently. I have no idea (and the trainer doesn't seem to know, either) what is wrong with the back of my knee (medial side). Weirdly enough, I think it is connected to my calve or something, because it felt a lot better after I hammered out calf raises. And where it used to pull in my knee is where I feel the most soreness in my calf when I drive my knee up (driving my knee up is what used to make it hurt).

Found out that I HATE the elliptical but the bike isn't terrible. Averaged 19.5mph on the first bike and only like 18mph on the second one, but thats because i lowered the gear and kept my RPM's near 100. Going to keep running and doing core work and calves/hamstrings stuff and see where it goes from here. This week is going to be a test week for my knee and hopefully it passes. Going to add in a lot more cross training, too.

Dude you have a 49 400 and a 1:52 800 how can you not run 4:24? Run more base miles you should run like 4:05-4:10

RejectRunner wrote:

Dude you have a 49 400 and a 1:52 800 how can you not run 4:24? Run more base miles you should run like 4:05-4:10

I'm not trying to be rude but it sounds like you haven't read much of the thread. I guarantee you I could have broken 4:24 any point during my outdoor season, but I didn't run the mile. I ran the 800 and 4x4 pretty much every meet.

400m: 49.9r

500m: 1:06.4

800m: 1:52.7

1500m: 4:08

Mile: 4:31

3000m: 9:20

5000m: 16:10 (road)

15k: 52:40 (road)

Week ending in 11/19:

Sunday 4 miles @ 7:30. Light Hurdle Drills and core.

Monday 8.5 miles @ 7:05 with middle 3 miles @ 6:12 pace.

Tuesday 2 mile shakeout @ 7:45. Did hamstring curls, smith machine calf raises and straight leg deadlifts. Hamstring/knee not great

Wednesday 30min bike. Avg RPM 97. Avg HR 168. Lots of sweat.

Ran 6 miles right after bike ride @ 7:06 with 2x10min @ 6:25 pace during my buddies tempo. Did core after.

Thursday 3.2 miles @ 7:30 pace.

30min bike ride right after. Avg RPM 95, Avg HR 158.

Friday 3.9 miles @ 7:08 pace. Knee okay, calves sore. Did a bike workout right after. 10min warmup, 13 minutes of 30 seconds on/30s off. On parts were above 250watts, HR close to 170. Legs burned.

Saturday Planned off day.

Week totals: 27.6 miles running

28 miles biking

Knee has felt like its been slowly getting better, but I haven't sprints or anything that used to aggravate it, so we'll see. I'm going to a pretty good sports medicine place tomorrow to get Xrays and checked out. Even if it is mostly better, I would like to know what was wrong so I can avoid it next time.

I hope that this thread keeps going. Best of luck getting back to health

You have shown incredible improvements. Thank you for posting this thread, and I hope you continue. The major takeaway here should be clear. While you did increase your mileage, it was the interval/speedwork that put you on a whole new level.

Need for Speedwork wrote:

You have shown incredible improvements. Thank you for posting this thread, and I hope you continue. The major takeaway here should be clear. While you did increase your mileage, it was the interval/speedwork that put you on a whole new level.

Thank you!

I agree. It was a lot of things to be honest. The mileage definitely helped, especially the quality aerobic mileage. I feel as though if anything else that gave me confidence in myself.

I think not only the intervals helped, but learning how to run them at a relaxed pace. I've been running intervals for years but this was the first year I focused on relaxing and being smooth. I also think that doing those quick 100m strides and focusing on form helped get my 400m time down, and everything fell into place slowly after that.

And thank you guys asking about my injury. It has been improving and is much better now. I will post last week tomorrow when I have more time.

PRs

400m: 49.9r

500m: 1:06.4

800m: 1:52.7

1500m: 4:08

Mile: 4:31

3000m: 9:20

5000m: 16:10 (road)

15k: 52:40 (road)

Week Ending in: 11/26

Sunday AM 3.3 miles @ 7:16

PM 6.4 miles @ 7:10 pace

Monday 6 miles at 7:06 pace

Tuesday AM 4.8 miles @ 7:17 pace on treadmill

PM 4.8 miles @ 7:18 pace on treadmill

Wednesday AM 8.7 miles @ 5:57 pace

PM 2.7 miles @ 7:45

Thursday AM 2.8 miles @ 7:40

PM 2.8 miles @ 7:40

Friday 8 miles @ 7:32

Saturday 6 miles @ 6:02 pace

Week total: 56 miles

Went to the sports medicine doctor on Monday. They took X-rays and did ultra sound on my knee. Didn't find any problems. They told me that I am extremely tight and that I should be rolling my legs multiple times a day. They also said I am very strong "North and South" but that I need to strengthen myself laterally "East and West". So I've been rolling consistently every day since, been doing some icing, and a lot more core and hip strengthening stuff. My knee has been getting significantly better. I'm running a small track meet to see where I'm at this Saturday. Not really expecting much but we'll see!

PRs

400m: 49.9r

500m: 1:06.4

800m: 1:52.7

1500m: 4:08

Mile: 4:31

3000m: 9:20

5000m: 16:10 (road)

15k: 52:40 (road)

Week ending in 12/3:

Sunday Easy 7.5 @ 7:25 pace + Some light strides

Monday 8 miles total with 6x400m in the middle with the team. Jogged a lap between. 3 min rest. 70, 68, 65, 64, 62, 60.

Tuesday AM 3.3 miles easy @ 7:30

PM 8.3 miles @ 6:45 pace. Last 4 miles @ 6:15 pace

Wednesday 15 minutes @ 5:42 pace then 3x200m with 2min rest. 28, 28, 27

Thursday AM 3.3 miles easy @ 7:40 pace

PM 8.5 miles easy @ 7:15 + Strides

Friday Easy 4.8 miles @ 7:25 pace

Saturday Season opener meet.

Mile 4:36

800m 2:04

Week total: 58 miles

I felt good most of the week. Wasn't planning on running the 400's at all but I felt good and got a little carried away. Ran a very small meet and ran pretty crappy. Was all alone in the mile since the kid who beat me ran 4:20 and the kid behind me ran 4:45. Then only 45 minutes rest and just tried to get through the 800m. Took 2nd in that, too. Not good times but I'm not worried about it since its only december 3rd.

PRs

400m: 49.9r

500m: 1:06.4

800m: 1:52.7

1500m: 4:08

Mile: 4:31

3000m: 9:20

5000m: 16:10 (road)

15k: 52:40 (road)

Week ending in 12/10:

Sunday Off.

Monday 7.5 miles @ 6:50

Tuesday Mini fartlek on treadmill. 800m @ 5:27 pace then 400m @ 6:15 pace for two miles. Felt crappy + Lifting

Wednesday Long Run 12 miles @ 7:20 pace

Thursday AM 3.1 miles @ 7:38 pace

PM 5.1 miles @ 6:45 pace. 10 minute continuous plyo session after

Friday 2.2 mile shakeout run

Saturday 8.2 miles @ 7:28 pace + Lifting

Week total: 42 miles

Planned down week before I build up the mileage this coming weeks. Lots of treadmill running this week because it snowed 2ft here in a day or two. Felt decent overall, though. Glad to be back into lifting and stuff. I plan on being consistent with lifting and adding in a structured little sprint program because I would really like to drop my 400m time for outdoor season.

PRs

400m: 49.9r

500m: 1:06.4

800m: 1:52.7

1500m: 4:08

Mile: 4:31

3000m: 9:20

5000m: 16:10 (road)

15k: 52:40 (road)

Week Ending in 12/17:

Sunday 9 miles @ 6:45 pace on the treadmill. Last 3 miles sub 6:30 + Strides

Monday AM 8.2 miles easy @ 7:24 + Strides

PM 2.2 miles easy @ 7:30

Tuesday 8 miles @ 7:45 pace on treadmill

Wednesday 5.4 miles @ 6:25 pace on treadmill + Lifting

Thursday 8.2 miles easy @ 7:22 pace on treadmill + Strides

Friday 3.2 miles easy @ 7:09 pace on treadmill + Lifting

Saturday 12.7 mile long run @ 7:25 pace. First run outside in a while.

Week total: 58 miles

Final finals week ever for me. I didn't really double much because I was busy, so I guess this week isn't bad considering. It's been a cold, snowy, slushy mess outside so most of my runs have been inside. The long run was a little slick for about halfway but it was above 30 degrees out and that felt really nice. During these strides I feel much slower than I used to be. Now that i'll be home until the summer, I can focus some extra time to start building up my speed. I have a little workout/periodization plan for sprint work/top speed work and I'm going to go through that as I build my mileage to mid 70's then add in tempos and some other things.

Originally, I wanted to run some fast time indoors because I like indoors and I want to run faster in the 500m and the mile, but because of some small injuries and setbacks, I've decided it will be better if I just train through and build through indoor. I'll run some meets to test my fitness and see my old team but the goal is to PR in the 800m (and other events) outdoors.

Any other questions or comments, let me know!

Which grade or how old are you, and i am 12 years old and i am doing anywhere from 15-20 MPW. Should i keep this up? My mile PR is 5:50 as of now. Most of my workouts will be easy jogs at 9-10 min per mile pace and a long run every 10 days of 5-6 miles at 8:30 pace. And a farklet or long hills, and lots of striders, short hill sprints or flat hill sprints after easy runs. SO i am not doing just speed work, but i am doing a mixture of areobic easy runs and fast short sprints after to improve my speed. IS this a good schedule?

BTW, nice training!!!

Assuming this isn't a troll post...

This looks pretty solid. I'm not a coach and especially not one for younger kids (I'm 22 btw), everything I've heard involves younger kids doing top end speed development and easy aerobic training. Your mileage is low, which is good for now, and if you keep working on top speed in a structured manner you will reap the benefits when you're in high school. Very SLOWLY build your mileage as you get older and keep working on that sprint speed.

Thanks for the input!

I am not sure why almost everyone think's that 12 year olds are always trolls?

No problem! And just because it's more common to see troll posts on this site than it is to see real, genuine posts.

oh ok