"Race" Report: Mile Trial

I never intended for this mile training cycle to get back back to my 6:00 mile goal that I had last year, pre-PF tear. My only goal was to use these six weeks to re-train my mind to handle workouts, and go from logging 35-40mpw of "running" to 30+ mpw of training. 

Cross-that-s***-off

But, everybody likes numbers, right? So, here's how today shook out:

Previous PR: 6:14 (1/1/17)
90% Goal: 6:40
50% Goal: 6:35
10% Goal: 6:27
Result: 6:31

Pre-Mile:
As soon as we (I had two awesome teammates who woke up at 4:XX on a Saturday and came out solely to cheer me on) started running this morning, my mind told me it was not going to be a good run day. My legs didn't feel loose. I felt sluggish. Oh well. Just run whatever you can. This was never intended to be a super fast mile. 

We ran a few easy laps on the track, but I never felt like I really warmed up. Blergh. 

"Hey," said one of my teammates, "don't you have some strides or something to do too?"

"Uh... yeah. Guess I should do those..."

I'd been kind of on the fence about doing them at all. I didn't want to tire myself out. At least that's what I told myself. But when you're point-blank called out on something by a teammate, you kind of have to do it. 



Strides:
The program called for 5x70m strides. The three of us combed the track for markers, but could only find the 100m start and finish, so one stood at the 100m and I "eyeballed" the 70m mark. Surprisingly, these felt good... though they turned out to be only around 50m. 


Mile:
I had my teammates set themselves up at the 200m and lap marks, and took a little solace in the fact that, whatever my pace ended up being, they'd be proud of me... and I was the only one actually DOING the mile test, so there was also that. After a five minute rest/wait, I took a deep breath, and off I went.

Lap 1: This lap was a mix of "run", "take it easy and don't burn out", and reminding myself that "it's only four laps". My breathing was already at a steady 2:2 at the 200m mark, and I tried to mentally "settle in" for the long haul. I hit my lap button as I crossed the line, hoping for some idea of how I was pacing, but, with the way I'd programmed the workout into my watch, I wasn't able to see my lap split. Oh well. Just keep running.

Lap 2: "Hey, this isn't too bad. I haven't felt like crapping myself yet, so I guess that's a good thing... Not eating vegetables yesterday might have been a good call." Also, hearing my teammate at the 200m mark say "you only have to see me two more times!" was a great reminder that I was almost halfway through. 

Lap 3: "You're over halfway there," my teammate called as I crossed the line to start my third lap. Yes. Yes, I am. I smiled a little (in my head, my face was NOT a smile for sure) as I passed the 200m mark, hearing shouts of "use your arms", "good form", and remembering the next time I saw her, I'd be 200m away from the end of this.

Lap 4: I didn't feel nearly as dead as I thought I would. I didn't feel good, but I also didn't feel awful (and, more importantly (?), I didn't feel any GI distress). My legs felt powerful. My arms felt strong. I felt capable. Fatigue set in a little around the last curve, but I pulled out another gear (definitely not my usual last kick, though-- I certainly had more in me than what I gave) going into the final 100m. 

And then it was over.

Cool-down:
Due to my watch's workout programming and screen settings, I had no idea what I'd run the mile in. That was fine with me. I walked for about 50-100m, catching my breath as my teammates jogged over to me, lifting me up with comments like, "you weren't twisting!", "you looked so strong", "that was so impressive", and "yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay". My legs didn't feel like jello. My cardio was in good shape. I think my mind was 100% the limiting factor on the run. Still, I didn't care what my time was, I felt good that I'd pushed through something I didn't really want to do, finished strong, and, most importantly, that I'd made it through my post-injury/comeback training cycle uninjured and happy.

#team <3 

Reflections:
If I'd had to guess, I would have said that I finished around a 6:42. When I was able to look at my splits, I was SUPER happy find the mental math yielded a 6:31 instead. 

Pre-injury, a 6:33 was my "default" mile time. I seemed that no matter what, if I were to go out and just run a mile, I'd be somewhere in the 6:33-35 range. 

It feels good to finally be back at my "baseline", especially after the struggle of a last nine months. 

The best part of today's run is how much better of a job I did at pacing myself. In ALL of my past mile attempts, I've started off too fast, and died after the 800m mark. 

Today, here's what my pace looked like:

whole workout
0-15:00 WU: lots of stops/starts due to track debris
strides
rest
mile
recovery
cooldown

Mile: SUPER consistent

Laps 12, 13, 14, 15 = Mile

Last week at the track, I was finished after a single 90s 400 and needed the recovery. This week, I finished the first one without too much stress, and then went on to clock three additional, back-to-back, near-identical splits. I am SO proud of this. 

Good Things:

• This training gave me something to hold onto when other areas of my life were crumbling. I am forever grateful to running for getting me through the rough times.
• I missed a handful of workouts, due to illness, but was incredibly consistent otherwise
• My final test was unpaced (by person or watch) and still incredibly consistent
• I'm proud of myself
• My mind is back in "in training" mode
• I have my confidence back (at least when it comes to running)

Room for Improvement:

• Strength/core training fell off the map. Short workout circuits felt like a "why bother" so I skipped them most of the time. 
• This cycle wasn't about pushing my pace as much as it was my mind, but there's definitely room to push harder during the workouts
• My diet has been full of 100 kinds of cheats. It's not awful, or nearly as bad as it was pre-2018, but I've definitely struggled to eat clean. 

What's Next?

• I want to try another mile, sometime in the next 1-2 weeks. I feel like I can go faster than I did today.
• Last year's "Year of the 5K" really turned into more of a "year of the mile" (I raced a single 5K in 2017), so I'm looking to target a fall 5K and see how fast I can go. The ultimate goal would be an "A Wave" bib for Peachtree 2019, but a 45:47 10K seems incredibly ambitious (PR = 47:53). There aren't any published standards for the equivalent 5K time, so I figure I'll shoot for dropping 30s off of my PR (PR=22:48, so goal maybe 22:18?). Planning on exploring Hansons training methodology with a couple teammates... Goal race still TBD