Friend Needs to Run 1.5 miles in 13:30 in 2 weeks, and He is completely untrained. HELP!

Double dose bicarb on the day of the test.

Ha. I already suggested that. Does the bicarb skin lotion work, or just the Maurtens pills?

It wouldn't hurt to add the skin lotion with the ingestible bicarb.

Don't want to get him injured with too much mileage. What does everyone think about speed hiking on an inclined treadmill. Intervals of 5-8 minutes?

Not many options with a window that short, but heat training can start taking hold in two weeks and anyone can do it. It's not an end-all, but it could pare off a little off his time. So whatever he does in workouts, overdress, throw a sweatshirt on, maybe a hat, even when it's warm out. If he has access to a sauna or hot tub, hit it after his workout.

I don't think a man who didn't bother to get fit for this position he supposedly wants should be a sheriff, sorry. Perhaps, he can be a clerk with the sheriff's office or something. Your friend will go back to his old lifestyle if he completes this 1.5 9 min mile pace run and then we will have an unfit sheriff who can't catch criminals.

I also don't think people who didn't run all summer should have spots on the xc team if they can't make it through a time trial.

He will need a week to recover from yesterday's effort. Then he can run the same pace for 4 laps, then another week recovery, 5 laps, then he's either going to succeed or fail.

The only "crash training he can do is some walking if his legs allow it without too much pain.

NSM and a time machine

Have him walk or bike as much as possible everyday until 2 days before the test. Work on aerobics without risking injury

With him being untrained there is a far better chance of him getting faster in that short of time than someone who has been running for a while. The answer is simple: he needs to run everyday till the time trial if he has access to an elliptical using that to reduce pounding might be nice.

Here is a simple plan:

2: miles easy (~11-10 min pace)

1 mile warm up 11 min pace rest ~5 min 6x1min with 60 min standing rest trying to run ~8 min pace (if now access to a track or GPS watch just run hard and try to have him get progressively faster each rep)

Elliptical for 30 min

2 miles easy + 3x~80 meter sprint

1 mile warm up 11 min pace rest ~5 min 5x1.5min with 60 min standing rest

Elliptical for 30 min

2 miles easy + 4x~80 meter sprint

1 mile warm up ~10 min pace rest ~4 min 4x2min with 75 min standing rest

Elliptical for 30 min

2 miles easy + 5x~80 meter sprint

1 mile warm up 11 min pace rest ~5 min 6x1min with 60 min standing rest

Elliptical 30 min

Rest

Time trial

Has your friend tried running on pure hate?

Sounds like he is in better shape than most people? He is "muscular, low body fat". So he just isn't a runner. I would say he cant really change much physiologically in 2 weeks so assuming he is already probably going to do it under the time cutoff (that's 9min/mile pace), he should just run to hedge his bets. Period. Just run, 2 out of 3 days or so, throw in 3 or 4 strides (not sprints) all with the purpose of maybe developing a little efficiency and muscle memory in running. In 2 weeks he probably achieve the goal of his body not revolting from this activity that is completely new or cramping up or smething. Its worth training, but I would say the return on investment/risk : benefit is probably not on the side of complicated threshold or VO2 training. Just run baby. It's 9 min mile pace, just get out the door and don't get an injury trying to "get in shape" in 2 weeks. He just needs to adapt the body a bit to this activity. No sprints.

couple miles easy or fartlek + 3 or 4 strides at a faster than easy run pace 100m each??

I think he will do it.

Roll out of bed and show up.

Your training plan is harder than the challenge itself.

Steroid juice head who wants to be a cop? Dude's got plenty of hate to channel.

Tell him to pretend there's a 14yo dark kid in a hoody chasing him, he'll find strength he never knew he had before.

Maybe he is an old football player and can draw on his toughness.

Thanks. On the standing rest, should that be seconds rather than mins that you typed?

One other emergency staple I should have mentioned - beet root shots. Buy a handful and take one or two daily in the days leading up + another one maybe an hour before the TT. Like my heat training idea, this stuff has a much better chance of helping a guy who has poor aerobic fitness. Here's the thing- for heat training, if down the road this guy starts running a lot, he'll be sweating for hours every week, building up plenty of plasma, and future heat training benefits for him will be much smaller. But now, he has nowhere to go but up. Similarly, the gains a serious runner gets from loading up on nitrates are pretty insignificant too. But right now, given his poor fitness and what's on the line, I'd give this all shot and try to shortcut a couple things that would come naturally if he had more time to train.