So after I agreed to Bill’s challenge to run a marathon (as a relay) in under four hours, we had to figure out how to shave off almost six minutes from my most recent best half marathon finishing time (2:20:45 in the RunDisney Tinkerbell Half in January).

I’m normally opposed to letting Bill coach me (best not to mix roles, we’ve found), but he does know what he’s talking about, so I said I would take his training schedule for me under advisement.

I’m already trained up to the distance; the main issue is to be able to sustain a 10:30 mile average for 13.1 miles. So I need speed work. Here is Bill’s plan to get me to a 10:30 average by the end of October (we’re looking at doing the Tri-Cities Marathon on October 28):

In addition to my usual running schedule, I’ll add mile-repeats.

Tuesday: 3 miles at the track running 10 minute miles/one slow lap in between each mile to rest. Check! Training went well.

Thursday: 4 miles at the track running 10 minute miles/one slow lap in between each mile to rest. Check! Training went well.

Next Tuesday: 6 miles at the track running 10 minute miles/one slow lap in between each mile to rest.

Next Thursday: 8 miles at the track running 10 minute miles/one slow lap in between each mile to rest.

Saturday or Sunday the week before the race: 5 mile run at my 10:30 pace.

I don’t know if this will get me to a 2:15 half marathon so I can pass the baton to Bill in time for him to get us over the finish line under 4 hours, but there’s one way to find out.