* * * * *
Hey Ron,
I took some time to give you my thoughts about last night. Turns
out it’s too much to message, so I’m emailing it.
There were six of us with hopes to break 6:00.
I gave Jackie a list of what the 6:00 mile pace would be after
each 300 meter lap. I asked her to let me know if I was ahead or behind pace
for each. That’s all the information I wanted. I didn’t look at my watch while
running except for the first short section before the final 5 laps commenced
(300 meter track).
After lap one, a quarter mile, I was ahead of pace by 3 seconds.
After that, I knew only whether I was ahead or behind or on pace … no
information on how much.
By about 1000 meters, I’d fallen behind the lead group of three
of my competitors, creating a gap. Jackie yelled at me to get back with them.
After another lap, with 300 meters to go, I had closed the gap.
Jackie told me I was on pace and to go with the three, only a
second or two ahead of me, but I was really, really tired.
They began their surge and created a new gap. I attempted to
surge with them, but it wasn’t enough. My kick wasn’t really much of a kick. At
that point my mental state was one of resignation, but I didn’t slow down … I
just couldn’t find that extra gear either mentally or physically or both … the
three ahead of me ran 5:57, 5:59, and 5:59. Two behind me ran 6:05 and 6:09.
Two things occur to me after some reflection:
I had interests that interfered with each other. On the one
hand, I wanted to break 6:00. On the other, I wanted to compete. When one of my
competitors went out fast, I went with him. That’s how I banked 3 seconds in
the first quarter mile; I don’t think I ever recovered from that and the rest
of the race was a struggle. I broke the run smart rule.
When I put in a surge to catch up with my competitors after 1000
meters, I took out of the equation any hope of a last lap or 200 meter kick
worth anything.
Struggling physically also affected my mental state such that I
didn’t have command or confidence to will my body to do what I wanted it to do.
I was unhappy with the result, but there is some solace in the fact that it was
a good effort for a 66 year old. I don’t think any of my competitors were over
50, most were in their 40s, one even less than that.
Now I have to figure out a venue to try again. I think if I had
run smarter last night, I might have gotten what I wanted.
Thanks, Ron.
Jim
* * * * *
Following is the pacing variation during the mile (per 300 meter lap, plus the first section of 119.58 yards) as best as I can conclude on the data I have (from a video, focused on the finish line of the 300 meter track):
First section, (from the start to the finish line, after which 1500 meters were left to go): 22.63 seconds, 5:33.1 mile pace
First 300 meter lap (447.664 yards) : 1:06.18, 5:55 mile pace (5:49.16 accumulated pace)
Second 300 meter lap (775.75 yards): 1:07.57, 6:02.25 mile pace (5:54.8 accumulated pace)
Third 300 meter lap (1103.832 yards): 1:09.9, 6:15 mile pace (6:00.8 accumulated pace)
Fourth 300 meter lap (1431.916 yards): 1:09.71, 6:14 mile pace (6:03.8 accumulated pace)
Fifth and last 300 meter (lap 1760 yards): 1:06.71, 5:57.9 mile pace (finish time 6:02.7)
Note: The first 440 yards was 87.3 to 87.44, or 5:49.2/5:49.8 mile pace, which, if carried to the end, would have equaled my best mile of 4:28 (1984).
In conclusion, I didn't run a very smart mile considering my major focus, a sub 6-minute mile. But I'm not going to kick myself over it. I simply have to try again in the near future, the nearer the better to take advantage of my accumulated, mile-specific training.
On Sunday, March 18, five days after the mile, I ran an 8K, and then one and a half hours later, a 5K, at the Bay Area Runners Club St. Patrick's Day Races ... the s0-called Irish Double. I easily placed 1st in my age group in both races, although my times were slower than last year ... likely due to a mileage drop per month (around 55) from a year ago, and my training this year specifically geared towards the mile.
To put the 6:02.7 mile into perspective, it is equivalent to a much faster time than I ran for the 8K and 5K. The mile, on an equivalency basis, is faster than the entire mile field by a lot. I was 6th overall in the field of both genders (20), and of the male gender (15), 1st in every other category that takes into account age. I was very close to three of the milers ahead of me, which made it possible to be 3rd overall if I had gone only 5.4 seconds faster. Moreover, even the 6:02.7 puts me in the national class for my age group, something nobody else can say.
It's just that I'm 66 years old, that's all.
I can't be unhappy with that.
On the contrary, it's quite an achievement.
Still, I want that sub 6-minute mile!
And then some.
March 25, 2018
Close enough to realize I can and will break 6:00, providing I stayed uninjured (I'm feeling really good right now), I have some dream goals, in this order:
1. To achieve a result that is equivalent to my best run ever, a 4:28.03 mile, which would be a 5:48.9 mile. I think I can do it.
2. To achieve international status as a 66-year old miler (90% and up), which would require a mile in 5:24.6. This is a long shot, but possible if everything falls into place just so (injury-free intense workouts)!
3. To achieve a result that would be equivalent to a sub-4:00 mile, which at 66 would be a 5:14.8. I can run that pace for short durations, but for a mile? Is this remotely possible? I'm not going to say it isn't.
Jim
* * * * *
Following is the pacing variation during the mile (per 300 meter lap, plus the first section of 119.58 yards) as best as I can conclude on the data I have (from a video, focused on the finish line of the 300 meter track):
First section, (from the start to the finish line, after which 1500 meters were left to go): 22.63 seconds, 5:33.1 mile pace
First 300 meter lap (447.664 yards) : 1:06.18, 5:55 mile pace (5:49.16 accumulated pace)
Second 300 meter lap (775.75 yards): 1:07.57, 6:02.25 mile pace (5:54.8 accumulated pace)
Third 300 meter lap (1103.832 yards): 1:09.9, 6:15 mile pace (6:00.8 accumulated pace)
Fourth 300 meter lap (1431.916 yards): 1:09.71, 6:14 mile pace (6:03.8 accumulated pace)
Fifth and last 300 meter (lap 1760 yards): 1:06.71, 5:57.9 mile pace (finish time 6:02.7)
Note: The first 440 yards was 87.3 to 87.44, or 5:49.2/5:49.8 mile pace, which, if carried to the end, would have equaled my best mile of 4:28 (1984).
In conclusion, I didn't run a very smart mile considering my major focus, a sub 6-minute mile. But I'm not going to kick myself over it. I simply have to try again in the near future, the nearer the better to take advantage of my accumulated, mile-specific training.
On Sunday, March 18, five days after the mile, I ran an 8K, and then one and a half hours later, a 5K, at the Bay Area Runners Club St. Patrick's Day Races ... the s0-called Irish Double. I easily placed 1st in my age group in both races, although my times were slower than last year ... likely due to a mileage drop per month (around 55) from a year ago, and my training this year specifically geared towards the mile.
To put the 6:02.7 mile into perspective, it is equivalent to a much faster time than I ran for the 8K and 5K. The mile, on an equivalency basis, is faster than the entire mile field by a lot. I was 6th overall in the field of both genders (20), and of the male gender (15), 1st in every other category that takes into account age. I was very close to three of the milers ahead of me, which made it possible to be 3rd overall if I had gone only 5.4 seconds faster. Moreover, even the 6:02.7 puts me in the national class for my age group, something nobody else can say.
It's just that I'm 66 years old, that's all.
I can't be unhappy with that.
On the contrary, it's quite an achievement.
Still, I want that sub 6-minute mile!
And then some.
* * * * *
March 25, 2018
Close enough to realize I can and will break 6:00, providing I stayed uninjured (I'm feeling really good right now), I have some dream goals, in this order:
1. To achieve a result that is equivalent to my best run ever, a 4:28.03 mile, which would be a 5:48.9 mile. I think I can do it.
2. To achieve international status as a 66-year old miler (90% and up), which would require a mile in 5:24.6. This is a long shot, but possible if everything falls into place just so (injury-free intense workouts)!
3. To achieve a result that would be equivalent to a sub-4:00 mile, which at 66 would be a 5:14.8. I can run that pace for short durations, but for a mile? Is this remotely possible? I'm not going to say it isn't.
No comments:
Post a Comment