Saturday, May 15, 2010

(What seemed like) The Longest Mile!

Have any of you run a 1 Mile race? It is TOUGH!

And really, so much fun.

And addicting.

And for me, full of mistakes that hopefully I learned from.

I signed up for the TC 1 Mile for a couple of reasons. I had a 2009 goal of reaching a 6 minute pace that I never actually tried to achieve and I wanted to increase my odds of getting into the TC 10 Mile race that takes place on marathon day this October. The highlight of my night was my son. He ran too, although he didn't run it hard (or even plan too). Yet, he ran a 7:31. So I'm still a little faster than him for a little bit longer (insert mischievous laugh). It won't be long when he is faster than me and stays that way. My guess is that he could have run it about a minute faster. The highlight part though was how much he enjoyed it. For the first time this spring he ran track and field and now "gets it". He understands how rewarding it is, and how fun running hard is and thus he also loved running and cheering others. Saweeeet! I think he also understands how putting in the training is worth it. We shall see.

The weather kind of sucked. It could have been worse but 50 degrees, cloudy and windy is not ideal. Ok, I was fine with the 50 degrees. But the rain 5 minutes before my wave and wet feet from running in the grass as part of my warm up wasn't part of my plan for trying to attain a 6 minute pace mile. The weatherman said that it was suppose to clear @ 5 pm. The wind had picked up and you could see lighter sky and even a little blue on the horizon to the west but that just meant wind and drizzle above us.

Oh well.

My biggest problem is that I did not plan my mile enough. I was running a 1 mile but still thinking 5k when it came to strategy. I DID NOT place myself in line where I should have. The gun went off and immediately I'm working to pass people including jumping onto the sidewalk and back off, weaving etc. This may be ok for the start of a 5k or longer race but it certainly is not when you are trying to run your fastest mile evah!

So that's what I'm doing for the about the first 1000 feet. My Garmin tells me I averaged a 6:19 pace the first 1000 feet. I do wonder how much was lost in my effort.

My reaction is what lost the mile for me. After I was free from passing people, I ran @ a 5:15 average pace for @ 1000 feet. Way too fast for me! Segments of that 1000 feet was faster than a 5 minute pace for a few hundred feet. Again, I can't do that and maintain!

And the last 1/2 mile was proof of that. I ran @ a 6:24 pace. My calculation was that I thought I was about 10 seconds behind at the half way point and I guess I was right. And although I ran really steady that last 1/2 mile, even steadily picked up the pace by around 5 -10 seconds, I couldn't find any reserve to run harder when I saw the finish line. It just wasn't there.

I suppose you may think that I'm unhappy with my result based on what I have written so far. But I am honestly not. I do feel like I have unfinished business, but it was still quite the accomplishment for me. I had not started training for this pace at all until 3 weeks ago. Prior to that I had been doing 10k training and had run intervals of 400 yards at @ 6:30 pace and 1k at @ 7 minute pace. And that was the fastest intervals I had ever been involved in. A six minute pace was a little bit of a stretch, yet if I didn't screw up the beginning of this race, I just may have done it???????

This is not my last mile race. And it may not even be my last mile race this year! Duluth in September?

Official results:

Average Pace 06:19
Overall Place 429 out of 2358
Gender Place 356 out of 1123
Age Group Place 53 our of 132 males 40-44



I have a couple of pics that I stole from Julie. It was great to meet you in person Julie and I'm amazed we noticed each other as there were a lot of people there. I'm also glad that I found you online. I'm blogging a little bit more now that I have found a new group of people that still do blog. A lot of my blogging peeps have petered out and/or Facebook took over. Facebook is part of my blogging problem too, but I love it. The old friends I have found there continues to amaze me. Regardless, I've wanted to blog some more and now feel more motivated.

 For those of you that are a lot faster than me. Sure, you try getting 195 pounds moving down the street! ;-)
I don't know who the guy on my left was? Nice guy though. My running advice to him. "If you don't make it to the tracks before the train comes by, you're running too slow"

Yep, I'm helpful like that.

5 comments:

  1. Hi Tim,
    You did great! I would of been thrilled with your time! I totally agree that next time we need to move our butts up front:) I found the first portion so challenging and frustrating! Live and learn...we will do so much better next year! I am not sure how you made your way through all of those people! I saw you ahead of me at the 800 meter mark...tall guy with orange shirt...yep, it was you. How did you manage to get through the people? I am so bad at that:)

    It was so nice meeting you and maybe I will see you in October:) I havn't made a final decision about the marathon but I have to soon:) Take care!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, Tim! New reader, here. Although I found your blog through super-sweetheart,Julie, I'm following you because I like what I'm reading!

    Trying new race distances? Check.Proprioceptive cues? Double check. (Big Matt Fitzgerald fan:).

    Anyways, congrats on that Mile- It sounds like you had an invaluable experience. Bet you go out hard from the front next time:)

    Take care. Have a great rest of the weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  3. My kids ran the Blue Mile here in Des Moines, and it was a blast! I am planning to run it next year! I don't hear of many mile races...I'm glad to know there is one in Sept.
    Your time is GREAT!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congrats on your race! Where are there other mile races in MN? I have never done one, would be fun!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tim - you did awesome and I think a 6 min pace is totally in reach! :) Great job to you (and your son!)

    ReplyDelete