Prop bet - 5 minute mile

[HedonismBot]

I'm coming up with some sort of prop bet with my room mate on me being able to run a 5 minute mile by mid may (7 months). I'm a lean guy (6'0 160 pounds) and have been athletic in the past (playing hockey) but for the past 2 years have been out of shape. I've never ran more than a few miles and that was a slow pace. I ran a mile a couple times earlier this week at about 9 minutes each without really trying too hard, I bet I could run about 7:45 if I gave it my all.

How hard will it be for me to do this? I am sure that it's possible but don't know how to go about getting started. Also we're at 6000 feet if that makes a difference. Thanks for any advice or links for how to train [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
I'm gonna go run now and will let you know my time

[Green Kool Aid]

Also we're at 6000 feet if that makes a difference.

huge

[Thremp]

Its gonna be hard. Like pretty effing hard.

[Rootabager]

I bet you can do it if you really start running alot. 5 minutes is fast but not super fast.

[Thremp]

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I bet you can do it if you really start running alot. 5 minutes is fast but not super fast.

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Its pretty [censored] fast.

You're translating this to around a 17 min 5k or so...? This is cooking.

[vulturesrow]

5 minutes, as Thremp said, is effing hard. And doing it at 6k...I think its a sucker bet personally. Keep in mind the mens world record in the mile is 3:43.13 (yes I googled it). So you are looking to be only a minute and 15 seconds slower than the world record holder.

[StaticShock]

[ QUOTE ]
Its gonna be hard. Like pretty effing hard.

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[Jon1000]

get this to 530 and i think it's pretty doable. i started running just about everyday within the last two months by first hopping on my sister's treadmill while watching tv. I did this instead of running outside cuz i was pretty self conscious about running in public after smoking and doing absolutely nothing for like 3.5 years. After about 2 weeks of running on the treadmill i could run a flat 2 miles anywhere between 14-16 minutes. it took another 2-3 weeks and I could pop out two at 6 minutes each. This is as fast as the treadmill goes, and I have since begun running outside. I don't time myself anymore, but I think if you are willing to run 3-4 times a week and push yourself, you can get to 5:30 well before 7 months rolls around. maybe this is an instance where I completely misjudged the majority though.

just saw the elevation. FWIW i'm at sea level

edit: forgot to mention. When i was in my best running shape, running just about everyday for high school sports, I could run a timed two miles anywhere between 11-1145 (we were tested three times during each season for 2 miles and 40 times and shuttle runs/suicides). I never ran a timed mile except on a treadmill, but for me, the difference between a 6:30 miles and 5 mile is HUGE, but I never trained specifically to do one. I think this a hard bet, but doable if you take it really seriously.

[Alobar]

you will lose this bet

[swingdoc]

I'm kinda sleepy, so maybe I missed this, but how old are you, OP? That's actually gonna be pretty important. Also, how are you going to attempt this, exactly? On a standard 400m track? Don't forget a mile is 1610 meters. Will you have people to race against or are you gonna try this all by your lonesome? I'm a fatty now, but was pretty serious about cross country and track in high school when I normally ran miles faster than this. You are probably in a lot of trouble here. Assuming you have average aerobic capacity, it's possible. However, the amount of work involved with this is gonna be pretty tremendous.

If you have to run this all alone, you're probably looking at the equivalent of a 4:50 mile if you had others to run with/draft off. Maybe slightly faster, actually. The drafting is only half of the problem, simply having someone to to chase instead of worrying about the pace yourself is huge. Oh, forgot to ask: do you live in the northern or southern hemisphere? You're going to need to put in quite a few base miles over the next 3-4 months and winter isn't always the kindest time to do this. I'll try to think about the best way to train for this, but it's gonna basically follow this sort of setup:

I. Base miles - 4 months. Most of your runs should be at a "comfortable" pace where you could carry on a conversation. Start with whatever you're comfortable running now and add more days running or more miles/day (never more than a 10% increase from previous week) until you're at 35-40 miles per week. 1 run per week should be something totally different from your normal (fartlek, intervals, hills, etc). I would for sure lift weights pretty intensely during this phase, make sure you work out upper and lower body well.

II. Strength endurance - 1.5 months. Here you keep your mileage up around 35 miles per week but start doing two serious strengthening workouts per week. Something like 10 x hills (150 meter gentle(ish) hill) running strong up the hill, jogging to the bottom. Or straight intervals like 8 x 600m running slightly slower than goal pace (2:00-2:10). Or a run where you run comfortable for 2 miles, then 1 or 2 miles at 6:00 pace or so and then 2 miles comfortably again. Running a 5k race a couple times per month would be perfect here. More hardcore weightlifting, especially circuits.

III. Final prep/speed - 1.5 months. Here you absolutely have to train your body to run at the pace you'll be racing at and slightly faster. ~30 miles per week here. 1 workout from phase II each week. The other hard workout should be at or faster than race pace. I'd really recommend starting with 4 x 200 at 37seconds. Increase one rep each week for a final of 10 x 200 at 37 seconds. Or run 1 x 100, 1 x 200, 1 x 300, 1 x 400, 1 x 300, 1 x 200, 1 x 100 at race pace. You just need to train your body to run at the pace you need. 2 weeks before your d day, run a trial mile for time. Cut back weight lifting for the last 2 weeks for sure, you can reduce it during this whole phase if you like.