Me and and buddy of mine were drinking a little too much in mid august when the subject of running came up, we are both very competitive individuals, so a heated argument took place with the result of a 5k bet. The terms of the bet are: we have 1 year to train, the bet is to take place on august 12th 2017 and we both run five miles at the same time on a track. The first to finish wins 5k.
I am a poker player so I did leave myself an out. I have within 30 days of aug 12th 2017 to back out for the cost of 500$, pretty good bet for me I think.

We are both 37 years old, he is 6'5 240lbs.
I am 6'4 195lbs, I have been quit smoking for 16 months and he still smokes. I haven't ran since high school, he has ran off and on for years and is traditionally a better runner than me but I never took running seriously and I am traditionally a better athlete than him. He ran a mile in high school in 5:22 and my fastest time was 6:15.
I have been jogging for 2 months now and it is harder than I anticipated, so any training tips or strategic advice would be greatly appreciated.
Winning this race is more important than the $to me even though 5k is a lot of money. We have been best friends since high school and I really want to win!!!!!

Is he training? How much info do you have about his progress, or how much can you buy from 3rd party sources?

A year is a long time to get ready, definitely doable. Your weight advantage alone should be huge, plus the smoking. I don't know **** about training for running, hopefully so runners will come help you out. It should be noted though, that your goals differ from 95% of all runners.

You want to kick a 5 mile run's ass. Most runners are aiming longer - half marathons or marathons. Some younger runners are aiming much shorter, in the <1k speed events. I imagine there are plenty of people who are aiming to dominate in 10k races, though, which are 6.5ish mile events, and you'd probably want to emulate them.

I ride bikes, but my thoughts are, if I was training for an event that was to be fairly short and fast, I would do
* a very minimal amount of long distance work
* a LOT of medium distance work - like maybe up to 2x the event length
* a medium amount of short distance work, like less than 1/4 of the event length.
* some interval work, which would be short intervals of very intense effort, like maybe 1-2 minutes.

He is not training at the moment, he tends to be very lazy during football season. He has said that if I haven't called the bet off within 3 months of the race he will start training then, though he could be bluffing. He is very confident in endurance running and pretty damn good at it for his size.
Since high school this is his pattern: gain weight until 255 260ish , start jogging and get down to 225, which was his high school weight. Stop exercising for the most part and level off at 235, 240ish then eventually get back up to 260 then rinse and repeat.

I should probably also mention my buddy is self employed with a very successful business with great employees that pretty much runs itself. So if he wanted to spend all day everyday training he could. Whereas I am not self employed and I work an average of about 50hrs per week. I think this is his biggest advantage of the bet.

You're 50 lbs lighter to begin with, you should be a huge favourite.

Gimme some thoughts people

Any stipulations regarding dirty tricks? I'd bet on the 240lb guy here.

It's pretty simple -

Run more frequently, then when you're running five days a week -
Run farther, then when you are running five miles a day -
Run faster

When it comes time for the race, just stay with him and then out run him to the finish.

That is very simple but also very solid advice, thanks.

I (sometimes) race bikes at an amateur level and I'm kind of chuckling now to think at how high of a level you have to get to before you might collect $5k/year in prize money much less for one race. I need to sucker someone into making a bet like this with me.

(Pretty sure american domestic pros need an outside source of income, and even international female pros usually need second jobs to make ends meet)

No stipulations were discussed, but I'm sure that would be a no go

Bet was made august 12th.
My first run was august 20th, I would run a quarter mile and then walk a quarter mile , did a mile total on my first run.
Anyways from august 20th to sep 20th I ran/walked a total of 30.5 miles, pretty good for someone who hasn't ran since high school I think.
From sep 20th to oct 20th I ran/walked 28.5 miles, I slacked off due to laziness and working 50+hours per week.
I've ran a couple times since with one day being my first run/walk 5mile day, I have been sick with possible bronchitis until today I'm finally starting to feel a little better. I say possibly because I didn't go to the doctor so I don't know what it was for sure.
Hope to get a run in Sunday if I'm feeling better by then.

I'm really serious about this bet any advice from long time runners would be greatly appreciated!!

This. It's very basic. But this.

Step one is to make sure that you can cover the ground. Step two is to start covering it faster.

The opposite way of approaching it could work too, but you don't need to set the world on fire, just beat him.

Start with short distances fast, then start going longer.

More risk this way though IMO

It seems like you are looking for some magic formula that will put you into position to win the bet without doing the work. There is no magic formula; there is only work.

step 1:
look up a couch to 5k training plan and complete it

step 2:
look up a more advanced training plan and complete it

step 3:
repeat step 2

I think a 10k would be more applicable to 5 miles.

I know there is no magic formula but from everything I've read on the internet 5 miles is kind of a in between distance. For example a lot of strength training, plyometrics, etc...would go into a 5k, with a 10k not so much.(5k 3.1 miles and 10k 6.2) I'm not afraid of hard work I just don't want to be working on the wrong things. Just really wanted some ideas from people who know a lot more about running than me.

Dude - You're not looking to compete as a serious runner, you're trying to beat an out of shape fat guy. Just run.

Also, on my college track team the 5k and 10k guys did the same workouts. In fact they were the same guys.

He is not fat by any means, he is just a big dude with a good amount of muscle. When he is 260 he is a tiny bit out of shape but at 240 he is not fat at all. He is 6'5.
225 is his in very,very good shape weight, he was a very good athlete in high school and this will be a cake walk by no means. I am skinny for my height and yes that is an advantage but his body type has never been considered fat.
Btw how long ago were you in college because training techniques change all the time and if you know so much how bout some good advice or gtfo.

Just got a z pack today hope it helps. When I start feeling better I will post my runs and progress

.

It would, was thinking 5 miles = 5k for some reason, not used to miles


Googled 8k for beginners got this

Week 1:
Day 1: Run easy 1 mile (1.6 K)
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Run easy 1 mile (1.6 K)
Day 4: 40-45 min cross-training
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Run easy 1.5 mile (2.4 K)
Day 7: Rest or 30 min walk

Week 2:
Day 1: Run easy 1.5 mile (2.4 K)
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Run easy 1 mile (1.6 K)
Day 4: 40-45 min cross-training
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Run easy 1.5 miles (2.4 K)
Day 7: Rest or 30 min walk

Week 3:
Day 1: Run easy 2 miles (3.2 K)
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Run easy 1.5 mile (2.4 K)
Day 4: 40-45 min cross-training
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Run easy 2 miles (3.2 K)
Day 7: Rest or 30 min walk


Week 4:
Day 1: Run easy 2 miles (3.2 K)
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Run easy 1.5 mile (2.4 K)
Day 4: 40-45 min cross-training
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Run easy 2.5 miles (4 K)
Day 7: Rest or 30 min walk

Week 5:
Day 1: Run easy 3 miles (5 K)
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Run easy 2 miles (3.2 K)
Day 4: 40-45 min cross-training
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Run easy 3 miles (5 K)
Day 7: Rest or 30 min walk

Week 6:
Day 1: Run easy 3.5 miles (5.6 K)
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Run easy 3 miles (5 K)
Day 4: 40-45 min cross-training
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Run easy 3.5 miles (5.6 K)
Day 7: Rest or 30 min walk

Week 7:
Day 1: Run easy 4 miles (6.4 K)
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Run easy 3 miles (5 K)
Day 4: 40-45 min cross-training
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Run easy 4.5 miles (7.2 K)
Day 7: Rest or 30 min walk

Week 8:
Your first 8K (5-miler) is this week! Try to take it a little easier this week, so that you're well-rested for your race. Good luck!
Day 1: Run 40 min
Day 2: 30 min cross-training
Day 3: Run 30 min

So maybe start something like this, then look up something more advanced if this feels too easy after the 8 weeks

I can't believe noone has yet to suggest simply running faster than the other guy.

Taking less time to complete the required distance works every time IME.

Hope this helps.

start with couch to 5k program (you can skip a few weeks and start in the middle; just be honest with yourself).
then do what didace said.
look at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3T...E4NmZfOW8/view as a general guideline. if you want, read some books ("faster road racing" by pfitzinger is popular and has a few 5k training plans. they are way too advanced for you. but you can still read the book).

the main problem is that you have a high chance of injury. especially your tendons and cartillages (and bones) take a long long time to adapt. much longer than your heart & lunges (and other cellular adaptations). to combat this:
- go to a GOOD running shop and buy suitable running shoes.
- be very smart with your training. having doms is normal. but be highly aware of "non-normal" pain. take breaks from running BEFORE the pain is bad. (this is very hard, especially for a beginner. some amount of discomfort can be normal, but it's hard to distinguish "normal" from "abnormal" pain)
- do a lot of crosstraining, especially at the beginning, to reduce the injury risk. swimming and biking are the two obvious choices. uphill walking is good as well (downhill running is not!)
- do a leg strengthening routine: http://www.njsportsmed.com/files/myrtl_routine.pdf is a popular choice. do this 3 times weekly for the full year.
- work on your core strength (i don't have a good link available atm)

do this for the next ~6 months. after that, you can start a more specific workout plan that includes speed & interval workouts. as was already said: 5k and 10k training are nearly the same. and for a beginner, they are exactly the same.

Hi - sounds like a cool bet so I'd like to add my opinion on this. I used to be an ok runner (28 minute 5 mile, 1.25 half marathon) but I've since put on a bit of weight and just trying to get into it again. I don't know how many runners use this forum, there seem to be a look of weight loss and bodybuilder/ weightlifting guys. You may get better advice on an actual running forum.

To get as fast as possible over 5 miles from where you are now you are going to want to improve both your base fitness and your running economy/ efficiency.

It's quite good that your weight is in the healthy range as running with a bmi over 25 can be an injury risk with all the pounding on your ankles and knees. Also the fact the you have stopped smoking will help a lot.

In your shoes I'd look to do 2 steady (untimed) runs a week. Start with what you are capable of now and look to increase the distances. I'd also look to do a 3rd timed run every week to measure your progress.

In addition to this I would try and do 1-2 interval sessions a week - things like hill sprints, 10*200m with 1 minute recovery etc. These will help improve your speed and efficiency.

It would be good if you could join a running group/ club to go to after work or at the weekend for several reasons.
- More motivating and less likely to quit session halfway through
- Competitive so you will push yourself harder in intervals etc
- Social aspect makes it more interesting, running can be lonely
- People will give you pointers about your form which is almost certainly terrible at the moment.

Regarding the 5k/10k issue. Didace is fairly right. If you look at the world's elite runners - Mo Farah, Kenenisa Bekele etc - most of them double up over the 5k and 10k distances. Only notable exception I can think of is Hicham el Guerrouj but he is the 1500m world record holder so can perhaps cut him some slack.

Good luck!