Are there any books or techniques any of you could suggest to improve my run time.

I start the police academy soon and I want to smoke the run. Being in the Corps of course I know that the first step is to get out there and do it, which I have., never stopped after discharge.

My best time in boot was 20:51 for 3 miles, I want to do better than that. I don't know what my current time is.

So anything ya'll could suggest? Thanks.

Just about any good running-specific shoe store should have several books on training, as well as staff who are probably pretty decent runners.

As for techniques, the store folks could probably point you in the direction of a local running club or you could try your local junior/community college and see if their spring semester has a track & field class. Either way, look for a coach who can help guide you to your goals. Don't be afraid to ask around and see what kind of success the coach has had with other runners in getting them to improve. They don't have to be national-class, but the runner's the coach has had should have gotten their times down while also avoiding injuries.

You could also probably check out some running Web sites, starting with www.runnersworld.com. I think they've got training tips and stuff there.

Since it sounds like you were a Marine fairly recently, I'm guessing that you're in your 20s and probably weigh at least 180. (Am I close? ) You're probably also fairly strong. But 180+ is actually a lot of weight for a runner. There's a reason why most good distance runners are on the thin side--less weight to carry means less energy needlessly expended. Sprinters, on the other hand, are all about power so they need the muscle.

That said, if I were your coach, I'd recommend taking three months and working up to between 30-40 miles per week, with a long run of 8-12 miles. This would be your base-building phase, and you're likely to be pretty tired, plus your body's going to find aches and pains it hasn't known before. That's why you do these base miles slowly! Let your body adapt to the rigors of running. You're going to drop weight during this time as well.

Once you're fairly comfortable handling 30-40 miles a week for at least a month with no overuse injuries, add a day of speedwork.

If you did 20:51 in boot for three miles, I'd bet you could get down to low 19s now if you put in the miles first. Good luck. Be warned, however, that you might find that running becomes a (positive) addiction!

Kato Seemed to some it up pretty good. Read Runnersworld. How much running are you doing now?
I like to run Half Marathons. I kinda stick to this routine.

www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/novice.htm

But running can become very addictive.

What is the run distance?

First build your base with longer moderate efforts, then add in small doses of speed.  Distance depend on what you are training for.  If the police academy run is 1-2 miles then long runs of 5-6 miles and interval work of 4 to 6 repeats of 1/4-1/2 mile once or twice/week should do you fine.

When I want to improve times in my running, I practice by starting off at a medium paced run for about .5 to 1 mile to warm up good then turn on the sprinting for the last half.

If you know how long the distance will be that you need to run then you can start out training using about twice the distance and gradually decrease the distance down to the target distance while you keep increasing your speed for the complete run. If you push yourself, while you decrease the distance it will feel like it is getting easier as the weeks go by! The main thing is a good warmup before you sprint so as to not injure anything because that will certainly kill your times.

Ah, youth, fair youth!

I remember when I was in college, we used to run cross-country in the fall to develop the base.  Races were Saturday mornings, five miles long.  Winning times were about 22 to 24 minutes, I did about 26 to 28 minutes.  The worst guy took about 30 minutes.  To get there it took a lot of time and miles running on the roads.

If you run 40 miles per week, you'll be able to run 3 miles in 18 minutes or less.  If the Academy test is a three mile test, be sure to run many three mile events during your training.  

Find and join a running team/club.  It is a LOT more fun to run with others than it is to run alone - A LOT!  You will find it is more challenging, more motivating and you will progress faster, too.

JUST DO IT!

One of the best ways for me to improve my time was to incorporate sprints into my weekly running schedule. I would progress weekly, either longer sprint distances or more total sprints, along with increasing my long distance runs. Another suggestion is interval training in some long runs. Of course you NEED to do a good stretch and warm up before sprints, in addition to Runners World, Mens Health has a lot of helpful information in it.

What police academy are you going to that you cant already smoke the timed run?  Under a 7 min mile average for 3 miles will qualify you even with federal LE at a very high level.  That run time alone could guarantee you a spot over someone else being considered.

I will tell you what I am doing but I have no idea if it will work or not as nothing I have ever done has worked for cardio.

I have a specific goal for a run time to max out the PT test... 12 minutes for 2 miles.  I do a pace I can maintain for 12 minutes no problem and finish the next 18 minutes at a pace that is keeping my heat rate around 140.  I increase my running speed .1 mph per session.  When I get to 10 mph I will be done.  I had to keep slowing my progress because I kept getting injuries so I sure hope this works.

I Take it DevL you are doing most of your work on a treadmill. Make sure get outside and actually log miles. A tread mill can take 1-2 minutes off your mile time. Also most poeple form is different on a tereadmill than running outside. Granted I use a treadmill in the winter months but nothing beats actual mileage outside.