Race Report: Miler Method #3

Previous PR: 6:14 (1/1/17)

90% Goal: 6:30
50% Goal: 6:25
10% Goal: 6:1X
Result: 6:08

Training:

Used my same http://www.milermethod.com/ training plan that Coach Nick developed for me back in 2017. 

• 6 runs a week (1 hill, 1 tempo + track intervals, 1 tempo, and 3 "easy" days)
• plan also includes core/strength workouts, but I confess I didn't so them... Instead, I did 20-30min/week of my own strength workouts, which weren't as targeted
• ~30-35mpw

Day Before:
The day before, I felt good. Lots of taper madness itching to go hard and fast. That was promising. Since I've had GI issues in previous hard/fast races after indulging in lots of vegetables the day before, I was really intentional about my food choices NOT being vegetables. This was surprisingly hard? 

That night, I started getting a bit nervous. What should my splits be? Do I have a strategy? What am I going to eat for breakfast? What if the baby wakes up in the middle of the night? ALL THE QUESTIONS. ALL THE STRESS.

My husband, champ that he is, offered to take all the MOTN wake-ups so that I could sleep in the basement. I went to bed around 7:30pm, just after the kids, and stayed up, reading my current Outlander book for about an hour, then drifted off to sleep. 

Pre-Mile: 

I got up around 3:36am, sans alarm, laid in bed for awhile, and then got up and got dressed. I thought about what my splits ought to be while pulling my hair back, put that was about as far as race prep went. I grabbed some toast for breakfast, my handheld out of the fridge, and set off for the track.  

I was lucky enough to have a teammate do this training with me (so she was also doing her "race" today), and another teammate who got up and came out to cheer for us at 4:30am on a Saturday. We warmed up for about 15min, joking about how freaking long 400m was, and then did a few strides to stretch out legs. I hate doing strides before a race. It always makes me feel like I'm "using up" all my speed/energy before the race, but I know that's not accurate. 

After the strides, we stood around for a bit. I would start first, and my teammate would begin a bit later, once I was around the 100m mark or so. I waited a bit over five minutes, figured that was enough recovery, and then lined up at the track marker that was 9m behind the "start" ('cause 4x400m laps does not one mile make). 

Mile:

Truly, I had no "game plan" in my head when I started the mile. I figured I'd have a slow first lap (especially since it had those extra 9m), and then try to get as close as I could to splits for a 6:00mi. I knew full well that a 6:00 mile was NOT in my wheelhouse, but it gave me even, memorized splits to "strive for". I figured I'd keep a running total of the +/- from 90s splits each lap, and just try to hang on enough to be able to push and finish strong. 

Lap 1- 1:24

I took off fast, as usual, and tried to settle in. When I saw an 0:21 at the 100m, I knew I was a little ahead of the 6:00 pace, but that's also a typical first 100m split for me (I'd forgotten about the extra 9m). I have a burst of initial speed, and then settle in. I felt good. I felt strong. 

...and crossed the line in 1:24.

Lap 2- 1:34

F--k. F--k. F--k. F--k. F--k. That was TOO FAST. You ran that WAY. TOO. FAST. Now you're going to burn out and die before the 800m. 

...but I didn't. I slowed myself just a bit, and focused on getting through the next 400. After that, I'd be halfway done. I think this lap is when my legs started feeling it a little, around 300m. I remembered how much my 800m TT (time trial) a few weeks ago had taken, and mentally "leaned in" to feeling that again. 

Maybe that's why it never came. 

Lap 3: 1:37

Alright, I told myself, here's where it starts to hurt. But... it didn't. Not nearly as much as I thought it would. I knew I'd slowed down, but I'd also banked time-- a lot of time, on Lap 1. I only ate 4 of the (more than) 6 s I'd banked. I didn't focus too much on what my time might/could/should be. There was still over 600m to go, and I needed to just get myself to the point where I could kick before I could let myself start thinking about finish times.

Wait, was that right? Only a lap and a half? I'm about to go into my last lap? Already? 

Lap 4: 1:32

When I started my last lap, I felt amazing. I wasn't feeling the same fatigue I expected. In fact, I think Lap 4 felt like Lap 3 normally does-- I was just starting to "hit the wall", but the realization that I only had 300m to was stronger than any fatigue I felt. At that point, I knew I was going to PR: -6s + 4s + 7s = +5s (relative to that 6:00 easy math reference). It was just a matter of by how much. 

As I hit the 200m line, I found another gear. At 100m to go, I found another. This is how my mile race was supposed to go back in September 2017. I pushed hard down the final 100m stretch, knowing every second I could shave off would mean a stronger finish time. Make it count. Do it right and you don't have to do it again.

Awww, yeaaaaah. 

Post-Race:

When I crossed the line, I lapped my watch, but it took me a bit to find/hit the "stop" button-- 6:12, it said. HOT DAMN. I knew that had a little extra time, but even if it didn't, that was a PR. I almost cried a little bit, grinning like an idiot, thanking our cheering teammate for being out at o'dark thirty, and then walked a few meters before turning to cheer in my teammate. 

We congratulated each other on a great training cycle and race, and then jogged a cool-down back to the cars.

Reflections:

• This has been a LONG PR in the making, over three years, and I could not be prouder.
• Miler Method provided an excellent plan that pushed me in new ways, and forced me to embrace tempo runs (which were key for me). I'm so glad I was finally able to reap the benefits of going through it at this level. 
• I've had two babies (the youngest of whom isn't even one year old), and I just PR-ed a mile. WHAT. 
• I am in probably the best (or close to) shape of my life, and I am so grateful to be an athlete right now. Truly, running has changed my life for the better, in so many ways. Especially during this pandemic, it's given me a healthy coping mechanism. 
• It was really fun to be able to go through all the steps of "updating a PR" in my various running recording places. :D 
• I believe I can break 6:00 now. I kind of did back in 2017, but realize that wasn't realistic now. Today, though, after executing a 6:08 that felt like that, I'm so excited for my next shot. I'm gonna do it.