But be mindful to stay hydrated, and don't overly push yourself. You just hurt yourself doing that.
If you cannot run for what ever reason, jump rope could help with cardio and help develop muscle. However it probably isn't as effective as running. Swimming is also viable for cardio, however won't do much at all for legs.
Or you can walk. It develops same muscles as running, only slower, and doesn't do much for cardio.
So essentially, run. And push your self till you get to a good time. But understand if you are already a good runner you may only trim a few seconds off your time every few weeks.
Ok, I'm perfectly fine with that. However, when I do my runs, should I do sprints or long-distance runs? The reason I ask this is because I've always thought that if you improve your time in sprints, you also improve your time in long-distance. Also, it takes me less time to recover between sprints than it does between long-distance laps. Thanks.
Sprints will not do much for training you for long distance. You want to build up endurance, and by running sprints, you would be training your body for short term, explosive activity. It will build a little muscle and might be good to throw in for variety once in a while, but endurance activity is what will train you for endurance activity.
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Keep your body lean, your blood clean and your mind sharp. -Rollins
Thanks for the advice. I just would like to know what the average time for a 16 year old running the 1000m is, since I want to try and possibly beat that time. I don't know what my time is for the 1000m (never recorded it), but 2 years ago, i know my time for the 600m was 2:20. I have gotten in better shape since then.
If you're running a 1000m race, sprints would be appropriate. This is definitely short distance and you should run 1/8 to 1/4 mile sprints as hard as you can, with rest being less time than the actual sprint. Also, adding one long run, say for an hour, per week would help you with cardio. Really, though, a 1000m race is just off of a sprint pace, so you'll need to increase muscle. Steep hills are also great for increasing strength and speed.
You can find answers to running questions at some of the running magazine web sites (I doubt if I'm allowed to name them here.)
