Race Report: Miler Method #4

Previous PR: 6:08 (7/25/2020)

90% Goal: 6:25
50% Goal: 6:15
10% Goal: 6:05
Result: 6:06 (PR)

Training:

I opted into a new round of Miler Method, with Coaches Sierra and Nick Willis, and got a different plan this time around:

• 6 runs a week (1 hill or strides, 1 tempo + track intervals, 1 tempo, and 3 "easy" days)
• intermittent core/strength workouts (that I actually did most of this time around)
• ~35-40mpw

Before:
Unlike past miles, I've had zero taper madness. Work has been pretty stressful the past few weeks (constant deadline shifts, where I'm urgently trying to wrap up work and put it in deliverable format only to find out 1-2 days before that "Oh, we're not issuing this week. We'll issue next week". Uggggh), and it's thrown me off my run game for sure. On top of that, a friend of mine was doing his first full Ironman (which was also going to be his first full marathon) this past Friday. I put a lot of effort into prepping for that (chalking up his course, making fun posters, verifying tracking software, etc), and worry a little that I might've used up all of my enthusiasm and energy on that effort... and dressing the family up for a Boo at the Zoo event (Halloween is my favorite). 

My husband asked me how I was feeling about my mile Friday night, and I honestly replied, "Not good. I think I may have inadvertently checked out of this cycle pre-maturely."

It wasn't intentional. I just feel like the past week I haven't been able to focus on running at all. I haven't kept up with this blog every day (like I usually do), and that, plus all the work/IM/Halloween/family stuff, has really made the mile "out of sight, out of mind" for me. I don't really feel confident going into tomorrow, but I'm also really at peace with that.

I'll go out tomorrow and do whatever my body can do. I'm expecting to hit somewhere around 6:15-6:25, and then probably take this coming week to get my head back in the game and make another go at it next weekend or the weekend after. 

Night Before:

I definitely had a "whatever" attitude about this mile, and that carried into everything I did tonight. I tried to take 30min for some mindful yoga as a "reset" after the kids went to bed, but it didn't really help. The evening was dominated by stress, bourbon, and munching on taco shells and poptarts. 

Pre-Mile: 

I woke up at 3:45am, sans alarm, after a night of bad dreams about running the mile. I Brushed my teeth, took my Halloween make-up off, shoved some shredded wheat in my mouth, and headed to the track. Even driving there, I was kind of 50/50 on whether I wanted to even bother with the mile or just go as support for my teammate. 

When I arrived, I took a moment to watch our coaches' pep talk for the mile trial. It was just what I needed to hear: reminders of not going out too fast, and also reminding us that wind/weather and how your body feels impact your time... a lot. "Don't feel like 'it's Sunday, I've gotta do my mile'" was my biggest takeaway. 

It was windy when my teammate and I got out of our cars, and I was grateful I had a jacket (I never run with or bring jackets-- that kind of shows how "whatever" I felt about this mile). We talked a lot on our way to the track and through the warm-up about our coaches' words and what each of us wanted. Knowing she was better equipped than me, I deferred to her for execution. We decided I'd run mine first, with her giving me 400m splits, and then I'd do the same for her. 

Mile:

Lap 1 88s

I took off with an "eh, let's see how this goes" attitude, and tried to push a little harder to make sure this didn't turn into a tempo run. I decided to take this opportunity as a "trial" and see how close I could get to the 90s even splits each time... without actually looking at my watch to check myself throughout the laps. I took one little peek at the 100m mark (20s-- too fast already, :P), and then tried to settle in. It was only four laps, right? 

Lap 2 92s

Well, I did a good job settling in here. I had some struggles around both curves (where the wind was the hardest), but accepted it. I found my breathing, and "embraced the suck". 

Lap 3 90s

Just gotta get through this one and then it's one more lap to the finish... My legs felt surprisingly good here, though I know my breathing was becoming a bit ragged. I've done enough miles now (especially the one recently) to start developing a sense of how each lap feels, and where my mind goes on them. It's been nice. 

When my teammate called out the 90s split, my mind got excited. OMG. I've done it. I just have to keep this pace, and I've got my 6:00 mile. I can do this.

Lap 4 ???

Knowing I just had to keep the pace (and feeling like I could still kick), I set off on my last lap. The wind was hard between 0-100m and 200-300m, but I still felt like I was maintaining the effort I needed. I didn't kick at the 200m mark, wanting to save some for after I got through the wind. In my head, I had the 6:00 in the bag, and every second I could shave off on the last straight-away was beautiful bonus... but I kicked anyways.

...and didn't get it. 

Post-Mile Reflections:

I didn't know what my time was when I finished. It wasn't until later that my teammate said that, by her watch, it was a 6:06 that I learned I hadn't even come close to the 6:00 mark.

How did I lose SIX WHOLE SECONDS on my last lap? Neither of these graphs seem accurate enough to explain. Oh well. 

pace via Polar

pace via Garmin

Maybe instead of "saving my kick", I slowed down too much in the last turn. Maybe the wind was just too strong (it was only reported as 6mph, but maybe that's enough)? I don't know, and I'll never know. I'm kind of okay with it, though. 

When I woke up this morning, I wasn't even sure I'd bother running a hard mile today. If I did, I wasn't sure I'd even come close to a 6:20. 

I ended up with a new PR... and I'm not even excited/proud about it, but neither am I disappointed. I'm just kind of apathetic? It's kind of like, "Oh, cool, that mile happened", but nothing more. Maybe that's a testament to my emotional/mental state right now, or maybe it's because I didn't view today as any sort of culmination of the past six weeks of training, just as "another run". Either way, I'm looking forward to trying again next weekend, if the weather's right, because I know I can break 6.