Help - Need Speed -fast

Hi, hope someone can help with ideas.

Basically for last few months have been building my endurance up from nothing, to the extent I can now run 8miles in just over an hour. However I am due to do a race even in just over a week and have been told I need to achieve 1.5miles in 10.5mins or 7min mile. Can anyone give me any tips on how to train to convert my hard won endurance to speed, quickly.

Carl

What do you mean 'need' to achieve? Who says? I can't think of any race director who sets such a limit, and your seven and a half minute miles sound pretty good to me.

Harumph. On your behalf.

sadly its for a fitness assesment..... the point being I have only ever managed to run at about 7min 15sec per mile, and even then only did 1 mile.
Also got to be able to do 40 pressups and 45 situps in two mins each, for the same assesment. These should be okay, its the running thats not looking too hot

Carl,

You've certainly got a solid enough endurance base to build some speed on top.

Have you timed yourself over that shorter distance?

If you can manage 8 miles in 1 hour (i.e. 8 consecutive lots of 1 mile in 7:30) I'd be very surprised if you couldn't go well under your target time over a short distance like 1½ miles.

If you can't manage it, maybe trying 3 or 4 sessions of

1 mile in 6:45, 2 mins standing recovery, 1 mile in 6:45

(or something similar i.e. faster than target pace, total distance greater than race distance, short recovery) between now and the time of your race should put enough speed into your legs for you to meet your target.
When running faster, concentrate on trying to maintain a faster legspeed than normal, rather than trying to do big, powerful ground-eating strides.

My £0.02p worth anyway

Is this for the army, Carl? I've met plenty of ex-pupils out on a run training for just that challenge.

Like Mike says, try a couple of sessions where you run faster than goal pace, BUT do nothing hard the 2 or 3 days before your assessment as you won't have recovered from the hard effort.

When it comes to the day, you'll be surprised just how much adrenaline will force your tired legs on.

Good luck.