The Ref Stop

Tips to improve my distance running?

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Wa69339

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I’m looking to go from 6-4 next season and am aware that the fitness test is something that’ll need nailing.
I’ve always been relatively fit through playing for years but I always got through games with lots of short sprints (winger/full back) and relied on pace.
I’ve never been any good at running any distance over 400m!!
Anyone have any tips for an effective way to build up my distance? I did a mile today at a good pace but my body/mind always seems to hit a wall around this distance and I really struggle!!
Admittedly I’ve never really tried to improve this aspect of my fitness as I’ve never needed to!
 
The Ref Stop
Wa69339 said:
I’m looking to go from 6-4 next season and am aware that the fitness test is something that’ll need nailing.
I’ve always been relatively fit through playing for years but I always got through games with lots of short sprints (winger/full back) and relied on pace.
I’ve never been any good at running any distance over 400m!!
Anyone have any tips for an effective way to build up my distance? I did a mile today at a good pace but my body/mind always seems to hit a wall around this distance and I really struggle!!
Admittedly I’ve never really tried to improve this aspect of my fitness as I’ve never needed to!
Click to expand...


Lamposts.
Make your goal to get to the next lampost.
And then the next one.
And, seeing as the next one is not too far away, get to the next one also
And surprsingly, the next one after that aint too far away either
And then, guess what! You can make the next one too!
Dont concentrate on the actual distance. A mile at your pace might be equal 1.5 miles of someone else's
So, to build your distance, train your mind to focus on the small steps that take you the distance.
in no time, you be running just counting off the lamposts,
 
Ciley Myrus said:
Lamposts.
Make your goal to get to the next lampost.
And then the next one.
And, seeing as the next one is not too far away, get to the next one also
And surprsingly, the next one after that aint too far away either
And then, guess what! You can make the next one too!
Dont concentrate on the actual distance. A mile at your pace might be equal 1.5 miles of someone else's
So, to build your distance, train your mind to focus on the small steps that take you the distance.
in no time, you be running just counting off the lamposts,
Click to expand...

Great advice, small steps! Just gotta find a flat bit of Bodmin with lamposts!!
 
Back off the speed a little and plan your runs with gradual incremental increases. Always plan a route.
 
Wa69339 said:
Great advice, small steps! Just gotta find a flat bit of Bodmin with lamposts!!
Click to expand...


replace lamppsts, with whatever markers you wish
From this shop, to that shop,
From this red car am going to run to that blue car down there
From this junction am running to the traffic lights

its about setting the goal mentally, and given it only be 100/150m goals at a time, before long you will have tricked/convinced your mind that you can go further
 
A combination of practising;
1) Slower runs (than your target pace) over longer distances (than your target distance)
2) Faster runs (than your target pace) over shorter distances (than your target distance)
3) Your target pace over distances less than or up to your goal (so you're very familiar with this pace)
 
If you believe the experts it's heart rate zones. Sounds like you are going to hard and that's where the wall is.
There is loads of online resources.
I am taking this opportunity now to work on my aerobic base. I usually run between 5 and 10k but ways in zone 4 and 5 which long term is not good, leads to overtraining and burnout.
I am following a polar running program where I dont think about distance. All about volume. So tomorrow I go for a 55 minute run but I am not supposed to get out of heart rate zone 2. Which for me is no more than 132bpm. Which essentially is not much more than a walk. I am lead to believe that over time and committing I will be able to run at my old pace but at a lower heart rate.
No heart rate tracker then you shouldn't really train at a faster pace than is comfortable to hold a conversation. If you are having to take breaths in between sentences then you are going to hard.
Allegedly this will improve your sprint speed and anaerobic thresholds in the long term.
 
Wa69339 said:
Great advice, small steps! Just gotta find a flat bit of Bodmin with lamposts!!
Click to expand...
Also good luck with the promotion. I am cornwall FA as well, down near Truro. Also not flat here Nd lacking on the lamppost dept. But that doesn't matter. If you find a long steady hill you can run down it in a low heart rate, walk/very very light jog back up it in the same zone and then run back down. Downhills are good for keeping heart rate low but picking pace up
Also train early when it is cool. Warm weather increases the heart rate which in turn increases lactic acid production leading to fatigue.
 
JamesL said:
If you believe the experts it's heart rate zones. Sounds like you are going to hard and that's where the wall is.
There is loads of online resources.
I am taking this opportunity now to work on my aerobic base. I usually run between 5 and 10k but ways in zone 4 and 5 which long term is not good, leads to overtraining and burnout.
I am following a polar running program where I dont think about distance. All about volume. So tomorrow I go for a 55 minute run but I am not supposed to get out of heart rate zone 2. Which for me is no more than 132bpm. Which essentially is not much more than a walk. I am lead to believe that over time and committing I will be able to run at my old pace but at a lower heart rate.
No heart rate tracker then you shouldn't really train at a faster pace than is comfortable to hold a conversation. If you are having to take breaths in between sentences then you are going to hard.
Allegedly this will improve your sprint speed and anaerobic thresholds in the long term.
Click to expand...
I’ve tried a few different paces and always seem to struggle to get passed 1 - 2 miles! I’ve got a lovely flat section of the Camel Trail right near my house but there’s not much in the way of markers (I’d soon lose count of trees!!)

Hopefully promotion should go well, I’m going on CORE too so that should help!
 
Wa69339 said:
I’ve tried a few different paces and always seem to struggle to get passed 1 - 2 miles! I’ve got a lovely flat section of the Camel Trail right near my house but there’s not much in the way of markers (I’d soon lose count of trees!!)

Hopefully promotion should go well, I’m going on CORE too so that should help!
Click to expand...
Forget distance. Work on time spent training in a heart rate zone. It takes a few months and is really really slow going, my zone 2 is not much more than a shuffle. Doesn't feel like running. Its probably less than a jog but just more than a walk.
 
What J said. The tip from runners is that it’s the longer slower runs that count. So if you really want to work on running stamina do long runs at low heart rate where you can talk - also you will get runners’ niggles but this should avoid serious injury.

I’m so bored I’ve been running every other day for a few weeks falling into the trap of 5-7k as fast as I can. Tomorrow I switch to lower intensity - for me that means something like 6’30” per km.
 
I've watched a few old games recently due to the lack of Live sport and if you watch the officials I'm really convinced that they either weren't anywhere near as fit as they seem to be today OR it didn't really matter when the players weren't as athletic as they seem to be more of today!!
Probably somewhere in the middle I'd guess!!
 
Sheffields Finest said:
I've watched a few old games recently due to the lack of Live sport and if you watch the officials I'm really convinced that they either weren't anywhere near as fit as they seem to be today OR it didn't really matter when the players weren't as athletic as they seem to be more of today!!
Probably somewhere in the middle I'd guess!!
Click to expand...
Sounds like I’d be well suited to this era!!
 
with distance 80% slobw 20% fast, and when parkrun comes bac tk, you can use the first lap as a base to see how you are progressing
 
Sheffields Finest said:
I've watched a few old games recently due to the lack of Live sport and if you watch the officials I'm really convinced that they either weren't anywhere near as fit as they seem to be today OR it didn't really matter when the players weren't as athletic as they seem to be more of today!!
Probably somewhere in the middle I'd guess!!
Click to expand...


confirmed 15 even 10 year ago, you did not have to be an athlete to be an elite referee
However, you do now
Not only do you have to be an athlete, you have to look like one
 
Back to the OP, @Wa69339 must primarily be concerned with the Copper Test
I'd say the LSD runs always have their place in terms of weight loss and establishing a base, but shorter faster runs will ultimately be more specific as the date of the test approaches. Hitting the wall at the mile mark on day 1 merely suggests that the pace is too fast, or that it's the brain which needs training. Training the mind is part of any fitness regime, but usually goes unnoticed
 
Wa69339 said:
I’ve always been relatively fit through playing for years but I always got through games with lots of short sprints (winger/full back) and relied on pace.
I’ve never been any good at running any distance over 400m!!
Anyone have any tips for an effective way to build up my distance? I did a mile today at a good pace but my body/mind always seems to hit a wall around this distance and I really struggle!!
Admittedly I’ve never really tried to improve this aspect of my fitness as I’ve never needed to!
Click to expand...

You haven't said how old you are so I'm guessing mid 30's to early 40's?

The 2.6km run in 12 mins or under basically equates to be able to run a 7.5 minute mile. It's not particularly quick for most younger people but an older person will certainly have to keep on top of their fitness in order to be able to achieve it.

Sounds to me like you simply need to work on increasing the distance you can run/jog without stopping. (Others have already alluded to this on here).

Look to do a 4-6 km run a minimum of 3 times a week. The pace you go at isn't important to start with (you have at least several weeks/months to get there) but concentrate on jogging at a comfortable speed that allows you to just keep going for the full distance - even if that means little more than a shuffling walk to begin with. Your body (and mind) will become more comfortable with this "distance rather than speed" thing within a couple of weeks. Take it from there. Once you build up the stamina and muscle memory to be able to run for more than 15 mins without stopping you can look to increase your pace (not distance) over time.
You could also try HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) whilst doing this as an alternative method whereby you jog/run at your best "1 mile pace" for 2-4 mins followed by a very light recovery jog (important to not stop running - ie don't walk) for about the same duration. Try and repeat this fast run followed by slow jog recovery at least 5 times.
The short answer is, there's no easy way other than a disciplined and focussed one to achieve your goal mate. ;)
 
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