Half marathon mano-a-mano!

Scott Alexander

I've placed a friendly wager ($12-15 craft beer bomber) with a buddy of mine for who beats who at the Austin 3m half marathon on Jan 24, 2016. It's a net-negative elevation course and many many people have PR'd on it (including him, who got a 1:41 last year).

With that said, I want that beer from him! He beat me by :14 at the 8 mile Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day, so I really want to beat him now!

What's the BEST way to get me across the finish line before him in ~7 weeks?!?

I've got the Dallas (aka "White Rock") half mary this coming Sunday; but other than that, I'm willing and able to dedicate myself to running until that day! (I'll still ride when I can, but not at the cost of running).

Lead me across before him, EN!

Peter Noyes

My best half marathons have all come after finishing the Get Faster plan in EN.

tim cronk

Lose 7lbs in 7 weeks :-)

John Bayone

What is your current Run Fitness?
And just a "ball park" estimate.....what time do you feel you would need to run to beat him? Approximately how close are you to that run fitness?
Basically, do you already have the speed and want to add the strength to stretch that out over the 13.1 or are we looking to build on both?

Swanie

Lose 7lbs in 7 weeks :-)

Lose 14 lbs in 7 weeks. That equates to a 6 minute advantage from your "today" self. I've lost 21 lbs in 6 weeks...you can do it.

Scott Alexander

@Tim, yep, I'm hitting the weight loss thing for sure!



@John, my run fitness isn't my best, but at the 8 mile Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day, I finished in 1:08:27 (7:49 pace, NGP 7:35). I think I need at least a 1:38 (7:28 pace, over 13.1!!). Since I lit a fire under his ass, with the wager, I'm sure he'll be training hard too!



I know I'll be needing at least two different 9+ mile runs/week, plus hill work and strides/pick-ups.

I've got an idea on what I can do (both time and required recovery, which is easy for me with my work schedule), but want to hear some other objective views.



Limitations are, of course, the holidays! I'll be driving to/from NorCal from TX, for Xmas.

John Bayone

Depending on time allowances, I would lay out a good quality interval session once a week between now and then....Including some longer intervals between your goal half marathon pace and your 10k pace...but nothing faster than that. While trying to build this strength be careful of any intervals that are too fast as they would risk stressing the system and letting you recover enough for the next session.
You can easily make these some nice quality running days with a little volume when if you can have at least a 1.5-2 mile warm up, and a 1.5-2 mile cool down at a super easy conversational pace.
Is this what you are thinking of??

morpheus

Do all of this ^^^ and then, on race day, sit on his hip the whole way. Don't ever pass him no matter how good you feel. If he speeds up, you speed up. He's only testing you. When he backs off, you back off. Save it, save it, save it for the last 1/2 to 1 mile out. Then, let it rip. Cuz, he sure as hell will. This is a Pass/Fail wager and a PR, while not being the priority of the day, will be a consequence of this competition.

I'm no FOP'er but this strategy has never failed me when I've had similar bragging rights on the line with my buddies (some of who are def faster than me across the board).

Love the comp. Get your ass to the track. Train smart and consistently. He's out there right now prepping for you, too!

Scott Alexander

Posted By Chris Hardbeck on 07 Dec 2015 09:50 PM


Do all of this ^^^ and then, on race day, sit on his hip the whole way. Don't ever pass him no matter how good you feel. If he speeds up, you speed up. He's only testing you. When he backs off, you back off. Save it, save it, save it for the last 1/2 to 1 mile out. Then, let it rip. Cuz, he sure as hell will. This is a Pass/Fail wager and a PR, while not being the priority of the day, will be a consequence of this competition.



I'm no FOP'er but this strategy has never failed me when I've had similar bragging rights on the line with my buddies (some of who are def faster than me across the board).



Love the comp. Get your ass to the track. Train smart and consistently. He's out there right now prepping for you, too!

I was totally doing this at the Turkey Trot, and he had no idea. That is, until another friend of mine came up and said hi to me (by name) about 2 miles in.

salzmadh

not sure what your current fitness is, or what your current training plan...but consider loading up one of the half marathon plans. I have done that two years in a row with great results at the half marathon level

Leslie Knight

I would agree with load up a half marathon plan- they are excellent!  And agree with Chris on the stay with him  advice.  I would also recommend hills.  I'm not nearly as fast as you, but I gained some speed with hills for a previous half.  And, I just did a net downhill half and two days later, my quads are still crying.  About 11 miles in, I think they felt like they wanted to cramp (I've never cramped before, so not exactly sure what getting ready to cramp feels like), but I think some serious down hill running (as a result of the uphill running) could have helped with those specific muscles. 

thekidduxc

@ Chris - I do not agree that staying on someone's hip is a "panacea" for beating someone mano-a-mano. This may workout for you because you have more speed or more speed-endurance than your competitor; But I promise you that will not always be the case.

In college my primary focus was the 1600/800 on the track; however my scholarship also dictated that I run XC. (I hated XC). Point being, I knew I was a faster 800m/1600m than most of my competition on the XC course because I was a competitive track runner first and I was rarely outkicked. But I promise you there are much faster people out there than any of us on this team.



To suggest that this formula works for everyone is not the case. Some people run better from the front and running it out of their oponent.... some like to turn every KM into a tactical situation... some like to sit and outkick everyone... we are all our own special snowflakes.



@ Scott - If you are going mano-a-mano perform some forward recon on your opponent. Discover their running style and their weakness(es) in an effort to turn them into your strengths. (Similar to poker where you play the player and not the hand). Use your acquired knowledge to train the way you need to in order to beat your opponent.

Gordon Cherwoniak

I'd agree with David.  Your friend might be sandbagging it a little and have a better kick than you.  This might be more about bragging rights than a PB at this point.    I don't have much else to add on the plan for the coming weeks other than, put down the beer, not empty ones, and watch the food intake over the holiday's. 

Oh that just reminded me, make sure you track the calories I find that I get tired when losing too fast and you don't really want to be missing workouts given the short timeframe.

 

morpheus

noted. point taken. just the way I'd gamble. my exerience only. thanks for the reminder.

Scott Alexander

Ran the Dallas "White Rock" half today, for a 1:49:35 (8:19avg). Had a few side stitches along the way which slowed me down (have to figure that all out). My WKO+ shows the IF as 1.027, so I definitely feel it's time to adjust my zones!

No new PR, but felt pretty good. It ended up to be a pretty good running day, especially since it was pouring rain until the very last minute!