4:45 mile bet: Can I make it by the end of the year?

The OP's name clearly indicates that he's not a Kenyan, so here are the odds of him winning the bet:

if he's Ethiopian - 80%

if he's white or Mexican - 45%

if he's Southeast Asian - 10%

primegrid wrote:

Genetics starts playing a big role once you get your times down to 4:20 or below. That's tough, and most people won't get that far no matter how hard they train.

4:20? I don't think the average optimally trained guy can even run a mile faster than 4:40.

Remember, there are plenty of fast-twitch guys who can't run distance. Not everyone is ideally suited for the mile.

A 4:45 mile is not easy but I think it's doable. Everybody on this board is a runner, this guy says he doesnt have a real running specific background. Speed is what you want, not this garbage mile stuff. You can do this on around 20 mpw. Do a couple days of easy running of about 5 miles, and do 3 days of speed work, 400s and some more 400s.

Can I get those Oregon workouts?

2:21 800m so soon shows promise. You will have rapid improvement at first, if you stay healthy.

Don't listen to people telling you that you need to run > 10 miles. Too soon for that. I would also take a day off every 5-10 days for these first few weeks.

I'm not going to write out a full training plan, but here are a few tips:

Strides often

Avoid back-to-back hard workouts

Look for races! Try a local college alumni meet (maybe find another friend to help pace?). Doing this solo would prove a lot harder.

Run a hard 600-mile time trial (or just 90% effort) every couple weeks to get used to racing, starting about 5-6 weeks in.

Make sure to taper

This isn't the best way to do things, but at least you're not some overweight dude trying to run a marathon in 3 months.

I'll be given a pacer for my first three attempts. He'll complete 3 laps in 3:32, leaving me 73 seconds to finish those last 409 meters.

Just email me at 445dream(AT)mailinator.com (replace that (AT) with @). No, that's not my usual email, but it'll do.

I'm getting there. I've been running 5K's 4-5 times this week, and I haven't run into any problems besides a bit of soreness.

Yes, I do live in a warm part of the country. We only get snow once every 4-5 years, so doing intervals in December shouldn't be a problem.

they registered my name .... wrote:

When I was running 59 for 400 I was able to run 2:03 and 4:30

I call BS on that claim, unless you were really tired before starting the 400 and didn't run it at full effort.

2:03 is 61 seconds/lap. I find it hard to believe that anyone can slow down by only 2 seconds/lap going from the 400 to the 800. If your endurance was really that good, your mile time should have been a lot faster than 4:30.

Bekele can run a 49 second 400 when he's fresh, and even he can't get a 1:42 800 (2 seconds/lap slower than his 400).

whitey wrote:

Run a hard 600-mile time trial (or just 90% effort) every couple weeks

You want me to run a 600 MILE time trial??? Hell no!

OK, I know you probably meant 600 meters. Well, I've just done that this week, and I got a 1:37. My 800 time is now a 2:15, while my mile time is down to 5:14.

Mileage has also increased significantly. I'm now running 5-6 miles every day with a long run of 8-9 miles.

That's a good start. Not that it counts for much, but the 600m "converts" to about 4:40 mile, and the 800, about a 4:46 mile. Keep up the work, and you should have a decent shot.

The time trials, etc. help, but you don't need to do them too often.

Mileage looks good. I would continue progressing a bit, but no need to overdo it and get injured. Make sure to have a couple real easy days every week.

Haha, I love Huck Seed. Didn't someone bet him that he couldn't float in the ocean for 24 hours?

You're going to win this bet easy.

Don't get injured and do your speedwork and it's in the bag.

When I ran 4:45 my PR's were around 57-58(400) 2:10 (800).

4:45 is no easy mark to hit. but with your mature body and a positive attitude you should be good to make a real attempt.

I would do:

run as many times a week as you can handle.

Forget about pace. just try and run for, say, over an hour a day or w/e you can handle.

Save the "all-out" efforts for 3-4 weeks before your race, or keep to a very minimal. Don't want to hit 4:42 now only to feel fatigued later in your 'season'

If you do any workouts, don't go near complete exhaustion by the end of the workout. Threshold workouts would be optimal.

accumulated weekly mileage/time > the long run

I would also do strides at the end of most of my normal runs. and maybe some drills wouldn't kill you either. most non-long time runners don't have the best form in the world

If you ran a 2:21 800, your mile time is probably about 5:25 now.. at least that's exactly how i was my freshmen track season...anyway yeah you can do it...im under the barrier now (well not now, i have anemia right now and i'm up to 5:30) but it doesn't take that long, it's important you do speed work though, lots of 400s, 600s, 800s, 1000s, and maybe even mile repeats, bring down the recovery time inbetween these sets and pick up the paces as you improve...if you spend too much time working on long distance runs like slow, easy 10 mile runs you wont get very far in a 1 mile race just remember that...good luck, it's possible that you can do it, it took me about 3 months after i posted a 2:21 800 so idk just a lot of work, make sure your consistent with your training

You guys have to remember to not compare this guy's first time training to your 'Freshman Year.'

A 21 year old moderately athletic male has about 50 times a better shot at this than a still-in-puberty 14 year old kid.

You will train for this and do very well. My personal opinion is that you will do no better than 4:55... Good luck

So did you make it? Obviously you were a troll, since you would have come on here again even if you failed if you had been serious enough to have actually trained and actually run a 2:21 800m.

And if you had won the bet you would have let us know.

Bump out the nrr threads

primegrid wrote:

Hunted wrote:

It all depends on your level of talent.

You will have to be very talented to manage this.

You don't need much talent to run a 4:45 mile; the only thing required is half-decent speed (which the OP has) and lots of mileage. Hell, even some high school girls can run that time.

The only part where talent comes in is the ability to run that time given only a few months of preparation. But if the OP was given more time to run that 4:45, I have no doubt that he could make it unless he's really injury prone.

Genetics starts playing a big role once you get your times down to 4:20 or below. That's tough, and most people won't get that far no matter how hard they train.

He has hardly any chance of running a 4:45 if he's trueful about his past. If he could do it in this short time coming off a 5:42 mile, he would be very talented.

"Genetics" technically plays a role in running anything!!

But to your point, it requires exceptional talent to run 4:45, especially after a few months of training. Less than 3% of runners can do a 4:45 mile. At 4:20 you're in the top 1%.

seen it before wrote:

So did you make it?

No, I got injured (Achilles problems) and lost the bet. I forgot about this thread until a random google search somehow brought it up today.

Whoops! Wrong username. I didn't realize that the google search brought up page two of the thread, so I just typed up whatever name was at the top. It's been a long time since my first post, and I forgot what name I used at that time. The fact that I cleared my cookies many times since then didn't help either.

It would have been very impressive if you had pulled it off. I think many very good runners under estimate how fast a 4:45 is relative to all people who run.