Mile Training: Roll the Tapes

I spent a lot of time this week going over my past mile attempts, trying to focus on "what went wrong".  

"Roll tape."

1/1/15 Resolution Run: 6:33 (PR) https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/888081239
I don't remember how this felt, and my pace graph is all over the place (because I imported a Nike+ run into Garmin after the fact). This was without any speedwork or training at all, though. 

5/24/16 All-Comers: 6:49 https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1183104070
After having a baby, I decided to see if I could beat my old mile time one night at the track. Courtney volunteered to stay late (the mile was the last event-- around 10pm) and pace me through it. I remember being terribly unfocused and tired, but wanting to do it anyways because I'd already stayed for it. After a hard relay a few hours earlier, 10KT earlier in the day, and generally being exhausted all the time with an infant in the house, I knew by the first 200m that it was not going to happen.

We were off at the first 400, but C stuck with me through at least half of the race, and then cheered me in. I had already given up at 400m, and told her as much. I don't remember this race hurting, probably because I never really tried.


1/1/17 Resolution Run 6:17 (PR) https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1505469316
Another "no expectations" race. I didn't train much for it, had been out a few weeks in December with some sort of injury (calf? quad? hip? idk), and just remember wanting to run hard. I don't remember it hurting, but my blog entry tells me it didn't hurt nearly as bad as it should have for a 6:14.  "I resigned myself on that hill to push, but didn't go all out."


5/6 Little Kings (6:33) https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1716614825
Injured just before the race, didn't get to train at all... just a looooooooong taper. I remember not even knowing if I'd be running the race the day of it. The weather was blergh, and my attitude was worse. I probably stress-ate about half a bag of tostitos in the hour before the race, too. Race started off strong enough, and on-pace, but I died at the 800m mark, and only kicked at the end because I had a friend cheering for me.


6/9 Braves (7:34. over a mile) https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1788646566
So, this wasn't actually a timed race... but I found out about that when I crossed the finish line. The first half of this race, like others, went well, but, being in the lead, it was really hard to stay motivated/pace myself appropriately. I had a PR 800m (2:50), and then quickly died afterwards, partially because I'd gone out too fast, and partially because there was a monster hill and, without someone to chase/someone chasing me, I lost motivation. Had some left for a kick when I entered the stadium, but considered this a terrible race. 

Red= Resolution '17
Black=Little Kings
Blue= Braves

So a few notables:

• I perform best without expectations
• On-course support (spectators/friends and fellow participants) is essential for my motivation
• I usually have a kick. The trick will be balancing the ability to kick with getting everything I can out of myself in the first 1400m.
• I start off TOO fast (interesting, because I take the exact opposite approach to any other distance, and it works for me in those)
• All of those previous times were done without training

This is the first time I've trained for a mile, and probably the hardest training program I've gone through for anything. While marathon and 5K training had their own challenges, I've been doing three workouts a week for this one, all of them pushing me to my limit (hill, tempo, interval). I feel strong, and I think this Miler Method program has been some of the best money I've ever spent on running. 

This past weekend was the goal race for almost all of my training group: the 5th Avenue Mile. It was really inspiring to read about so many fellow trainees' experiences, especially since all but a few of them smashed their goal times (sooo many sub-5s, and one new mama who ran a 5:30 9mo PP). While I was excited to read about the successes, my favorite read were the ones who didn't hit their goal. They, more than the others, talked about the challenges in-run, and Coach Nick spent more time replying to their posts with analysis and recommendations. His feedback about fitness/physical ability versus execution really spoke to me, and I think keeping those things in mind is really going to help me this weekend. 

Goals that Coach helped me develop:
1) negative splits (3:01 800m)
2) mental fortitude- don't let myself give up
3) 6:06-5:59 finish time



Sidenote: super fun getting to watch Coach Nick win the mile on TV! :)

...except a mile race isn't a marathon

Wooo, Coach Nick!