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[TheMasterTurtle]

Webber is completely correct, that is HOW I am good at sprinting.

[GlyphGryph]

Second the pushing through - but on the same hand, doing so multiple times is a lot better than doing so once, especially if you're having as much trouble as you claim to be.

So you know you can do the half mile, at least, even if not with a great time. Practice that. Run it twice times a day, take a 5 minute break after the first one and then do two quarters with a 5 minute in between. Do that every day for 3 or 4 days, then drop the second break. For a week or so, concentrate on improving the time of each half, and then take out the last break, and run the whole thing in one go. Essentially, work your way towards it gradually, but in a way that you are ALWAYS pushing outside your comfort zone. That's really all their is to it.

OF course, I'm not much of a runner, especially now, but that's because march fractures are a bitch and I'm apparently very susceptible to them, apparently. I do bike regularly... I wonder how long it would take me to do the mile if I were to try now...

[AllThingsLive]

Yeah, I guess so Webber.
Okay, well I think I'll follow your suggestion Glyph, I walk about 3 miles home everyday too, so on the last half mile, I'll run to my house. But when I do run, it honestly feels like I'm suffocating (I'd like to suggest that I may have asthma, but I think I'm just out of shape... a lot.)

[noodle0117]

For breathing, as simple and obvious as it sounds, I always find it helps to spend 20 or so seconds before running to just breath in and out really deeply and slowly. It cuts down greatly on how much burn you feel in your lungs when you get to your first quarter mile.

Now this might work differently for different runners, but whenever I go long distance, I always try to run and breathe in this pattern.

"half-breath in" *step*
"half-breath in" *step*
"Breathe out" *step* step*

"half-breath in" *step*
"half-breath in" *step*
"Breathe out" *step* step*

Breathe in through your mouth, but breathe out through your nose.

The hardest part of medium-long distance running isn't always the end, but often the middle part once you use up all the extra oxygen reserves in your blood (thus why I do pre-running breathing) and you haven't yet stabilized your pace and oxygen intake (but which can be easier to establish if you get your breathing in sync with your body).

Information Source: My dad who was fat and overweight during childhood, but who eventually became the third best 1500 meter runner in his college.
He was my inspiration for taking on medium-long distance running and under his advice I managed to jog my first mile in one go at the age of 7 (albeit rather slowly).

edit: A little question, when you take the test, do you run in groups or run solo?

[AllThingsLive]

I'll have to try that pre run breathing thing. And when we run, the guys are all let onto the track, we start when the teacher says to, and as you finish your time is recorded. The same then happens for the girls.

[noodle0117]

So you run in groups?
Well that's good.

It might not seem like much, but there's a little trick to lower your time by a few seconds (every little bit helps!).
Find a guy who runs at relatively the same pace as you and when you all start running, just tail right behind that guy. (not in front or to the side, but just right behind as if you were following him)
Your body will experience slightly less air resistance as the guy in front is the one pushing all the wind aside. This trick usually works better with faster paced races such as racecars and biking, but it also has a minor effect on running.

Feel free to switch to different people while running if you think the person in front is running too fast or too slow.

And enjoy running! (or at least try to not think of it as some killer activity invented by Satan and unleashed upon the world by his demonic coaching underlings...)

Running usually gets a lot less tedious the more you do it.

[AllThingsLive]

Haha, it definitely isn't a "Killer activity invented by Satan," but it is VERY tiring for myself. I must sound like a huge bitch right now "Oh my lungs hurt after half a mile" but I nearly feel like I'm suffocating when I run, and I can't focus on anything BUT the pain. I don't know, I just need to practice running. Maybe I'll go and buy a little iPod shuffle, load it up with a couple songs I really like and go for a run every other day. Also, today I tried doing the pushups and situps, I think we have to do 20 pushups, and I cranked out 20 with reasonable fatigue, but it wasn't too bad, but situps... I tried and I could only do 10. 10! I used to be able to do 60 and not even break a sweat, so I guess I need to start working on situps.
Funny thing is, for me, I can do exercises concerning muscular exertion until muscle failure, and the pain isn't that big of a deal. I think it's because of the idea of a rep, you do a rep, then you think "I just need to do another" then as soon as you finish the next one, you're thinking "Shit, this hurts, but I'll just do one more" and you just keep that mindset and eventually you get to the point where you're like "Fuck me, I can't like this weight. I'm trying with everything I have, but I physically cannot lift this weight" Then you drop it, wait for a while and repeat. That is simple to me, but when running there isn't a rep. It's just a set amount of time where the pain steadily increases. I can't think "Oh, I'm 5 minutes in, I feel like I'm drowning, but if I just run another 3 minutes..." the idea of the rest of the pain to come is just too much for myself.
I don't know, I'm just rambling now.

[eerr]

Yeah, I guess so Webber.
Okay, well I think I'll follow your suggestion Glyph, I walk about 3 miles home everyday too, so on the last half mile, I'll run to my house. But when I do run, it honestly feels like I'm suffocating (I'd like to suggest that I may have asthma, but I think I'm just out of shape... a lot.)

If you are in pain after one lap then you are going too fast.

Always going as fast as you possibly can is a ticket to suffering and being completely unable to run a mile No matter how much practice you put forth.

It means you have no idea how to practice running, and no idea how to run a race.
On the upshot, you may be less out of shape than you think.

[TheMasterTurtle]

I was able to run a mile at full speed whenever I started running. It was immensely painful and horrible but I did it. Now I do the occasional practise and join the track teams.

[yaklin]

something the navy taught me when i went through basic, just push through it, if you don't collapse from exhaustion at the end then you didn't push hard enough. Also doing 50 4-count jumping jacks several times a day really helps, my brothers 1.5 mile dropped from 11:40 to 10:40 by doing that. Also hydrate constantly hydrate, about 10 cups of water a day will do.

[GlyphGryph]

Okay, well I think I'll follow your suggestion Glyph, I walk about 3 miles home everyday too, so on the last half mile, I'll run to my house. But when I do run, it honestly feels like I'm suffocating (I'd like to suggest that I may have asthma, but I think I'm just out of shape... a lot.)

Wait a minute, that isn't what I said at all! If anything, you should run the whole way home, but take what breaks you need in between the running to actually get there. At the very least the entire last mile, since that's your goal (but you're even better off doing the whole thing). So it will probably take you longer all together for a while than walking might have, but the key is reducing the time taken every day (not by going faster, but by taking shorter breaks).

Also, having someone in person critique your form and approach would probably be useful. There are better and worse ways to run...

[Heron TSG]

Have you gotten any results from changing your form?

It might not seem like much, but there's a little trick to lower your time by a few seconds (every little bit helps!).
Find a guy who runs at relatively the same pace as you and when you all start running, just tail right behind that guy. (not in front or to the side, but just right behind as if you were following him)
Your body will experience slightly less air resistance as the guy in front is the one pushing all the wind aside. This trick usually works better with faster paced races such as racecars and biking, but it also has a minor effect on running.

Feel free to switch to different people while running if you think the person in front is running too fast or too slow.

It's actually really significant if you're in the right place, you can save upwards of 15% energy. Don't get too close or your form will be all weird from dodging the other person, and don't get too far away or you actually have more than normal air resistance due to the reconvergence of the air flow. Three to five feet (~1.0-1.5 meters) behind is usually fine, though if you're close enough you'll want to be slightly off their shoulder to avoid getting kicked in the legs. Not only is the lower pressure helping you move more quickly, a tailwind will give you more of a push than the person in front. A headwind will be absorbed by the person in front. If you want to tire out and pass someone during a race, that's how you do it. I do it all the time in cross country.