It’s an exciting feeling, and also a little scary, to head into a goal race with absolutely no excuses.
I’d trained and prepared as best I know how, and the key workouts had gone perfectly.
I was rested and tapered, with no aches or pains to speak of.
The weather was perfect.
It was a competitive field.
Most importantly, I’d raced a 5:00.3 mile on this same track two weeks earlier, and felt like I had it in me to go faster. In replaying that race, I decided I’d waited too long behind my main competitor, and should have taken over the pace sooner. Today’s race was my last chance of the summer to go sub-5:00, and I vowed not to leave anything out there.
I warm up with two easy miles, stretch, change into racing flats for a couple of laps of striders, stretch some more, and finally, as the 5000m is finishing, remove my socks and change into my spikes. My legs feel great and for once I am almost calm.
Track races are personal, so let’s introduce the main competitors. There are two masters runners I don’t know, but they look pretty fast. And Bob, a 47-year-old who specializes in 5ks, regularly eating my lunch with times in the low 17’s. In last year’s Mandrake Mile, he outkicked me with 300m left, and he’s already run a 4:57 mile this summer. I decide I will hang with him. Victor, my rival from the previous race, is a surprising no-show; I had been counting on him to set a strong pace.
“All milers report to the starting line,” calls the starter, and I get that shot of adrenaline. We stand on the line and get our final instructions; I make a nervous joke about wanting a map of the course. I’ve taken mcsolar’s suggestion and removed my watch, so as not to break my stride or my concentration by checking splits—MarkGuy stands ready to get the start, then sprint across the track to call out 200m splits. Four laps around the 400m oval, the elementary particle of distance running. It’s time. CRACK!
Lap 1: The two other guys set a quick pace for the first 100m, and open a 5-10m lead; I tuck in right behind Bob. But then they slow a bit, and Bob and I gradually pull in behind them as we hit the 200m mark. I hear MarkGuy call out “36… 37… 38…” as we pass; allowing for the extra 8 meters we’ve run to make this a true mile on a metric track, this is fine. Bob and I are side-by-side up the home stretch, and as we pass the finish the clock reads 77s. I’m right where I want to be and I feel relaxed.
Lap 2: This is the Dismal Lap of the mile; the excitement of the start is over, positions are established, you are starting to feel the pace but still have a long way to go. It’s easy to lose concentration and let the pace slip several seconds, a potentially fatal mistake. I stay right behind Bob, a few strides behind the two lead runners. I try to maintain good form and stay in the pack as we come up the home stretch. I pass the finish line as the clock reads 2:32… 2:33… about a 75s second lap. This is a bit slower than 5:00 pace, but a couple seconds ahead of my 2:35 split two weeks ago. What I learned from that race was that this is OK; I know I will be strong enough to pick up the pace now and take charge if I have to. But I decide to wait just a little longer.
Lap 3: If sub-5:00 is going to happen, now is the time to really push. I am right with Bob and he seems to be running well, but the front two runners are laboring noticeably. Coming down the backstretch I pull up behind the second runner. He’s drifted a little to the outside of the lane, and as we head into the far turn I make a little move and pass him on the inside. Bob covers the move, and as we enter the home stretch of the third lap Bob and I are side by side, right behind the leader. 500 meters to go, I’ve got gas in the tank, and I have to get moving. Time to make a decision… GO NOW! I pull the trigger and accelerate past Bob, past the frontrunner, and into the lead. I cross the finish line, and the clock reads 3:49, a 76-second lap, 4s slower than 5:00 pace. This is the same as my 3-lap split two weeks ago. But now I am moving and energized; instead of despairing that it will take a huge kick to pull this off, I’m excited that I feel like I have one.
Lap 4: I fly around the turn and down the backstretch; I don’t look back but can’t hear an immediate pursuer. It’s my race now! MarkGuy calls out my 1400m split: 4:22. Had I been able to do the math in my head, I would have realized that I’d just run a 33s 200m; all I know is that it felt fast. Now I KNOW I am going to make it! Around the final turn, into the home stretch, everyone cheering. Less than 50m to go, right at the spot where I blew out my AT in last year’s race, I see the clock turn to 4:50. This is it, push all the way through, do not waste one step!
Finish: 4:56.0, 1st OA, a 67s final lap. That felt GREAT.
First sub-5:00 mile in 20 years, and a Big Goal reached.
In the big picture, a sub-5:00 mile is no big deal. Any competent high-school miler can do it; heck, it’s some people’s marathon pace. But it’s mine, and I’m ecstatic about it.
Then there was the matter of the 4x400m relay, with Mark, Tim, Mark’s friend Eric, and me taking the anchor spot to grab a couple extra minutes’ rest. I am sorry to say that a team of high-school girls completely lit us up. On the plus side, I believe our exchanges were vastly improved over last year.
Before we headed out to celebrate rochrunner’s retirement and my Mandrake victory, the guys from the running store took me aside for one last item of business: the famed Champion’s Bonus. With great ceremony, they refunded my $5 entry fee. Best just-over-a-buck-a-minute I’ve ever earned.
Thanks for reading and for all the good vibes you’ve sent during this journey.
ETA: Age-graded 82.0, one of the top-5 races of my life.
I’d trained and prepared as best I know how, and the key workouts had gone perfectly.
I was rested and tapered, with no aches or pains to speak of.
The weather was perfect.
It was a competitive field.
Most importantly, I’d raced a 5:00.3 mile on this same track two weeks earlier, and felt like I had it in me to go faster. In replaying that race, I decided I’d waited too long behind my main competitor, and should have taken over the pace sooner. Today’s race was my last chance of the summer to go sub-5:00, and I vowed not to leave anything out there.
I warm up with two easy miles, stretch, change into racing flats for a couple of laps of striders, stretch some more, and finally, as the 5000m is finishing, remove my socks and change into my spikes. My legs feel great and for once I am almost calm.
Track races are personal, so let’s introduce the main competitors. There are two masters runners I don’t know, but they look pretty fast. And Bob, a 47-year-old who specializes in 5ks, regularly eating my lunch with times in the low 17’s. In last year’s Mandrake Mile, he outkicked me with 300m left, and he’s already run a 4:57 mile this summer. I decide I will hang with him. Victor, my rival from the previous race, is a surprising no-show; I had been counting on him to set a strong pace.
“All milers report to the starting line,” calls the starter, and I get that shot of adrenaline. We stand on the line and get our final instructions; I make a nervous joke about wanting a map of the course. I’ve taken mcsolar’s suggestion and removed my watch, so as not to break my stride or my concentration by checking splits—MarkGuy stands ready to get the start, then sprint across the track to call out 200m splits. Four laps around the 400m oval, the elementary particle of distance running. It’s time. CRACK!
Lap 1: The two other guys set a quick pace for the first 100m, and open a 5-10m lead; I tuck in right behind Bob. But then they slow a bit, and Bob and I gradually pull in behind them as we hit the 200m mark. I hear MarkGuy call out “36… 37… 38…” as we pass; allowing for the extra 8 meters we’ve run to make this a true mile on a metric track, this is fine. Bob and I are side-by-side up the home stretch, and as we pass the finish the clock reads 77s. I’m right where I want to be and I feel relaxed.
Lap 2: This is the Dismal Lap of the mile; the excitement of the start is over, positions are established, you are starting to feel the pace but still have a long way to go. It’s easy to lose concentration and let the pace slip several seconds, a potentially fatal mistake. I stay right behind Bob, a few strides behind the two lead runners. I try to maintain good form and stay in the pack as we come up the home stretch. I pass the finish line as the clock reads 2:32… 2:33… about a 75s second lap. This is a bit slower than 5:00 pace, but a couple seconds ahead of my 2:35 split two weeks ago. What I learned from that race was that this is OK; I know I will be strong enough to pick up the pace now and take charge if I have to. But I decide to wait just a little longer.
Lap 3: If sub-5:00 is going to happen, now is the time to really push. I am right with Bob and he seems to be running well, but the front two runners are laboring noticeably. Coming down the backstretch I pull up behind the second runner. He’s drifted a little to the outside of the lane, and as we head into the far turn I make a little move and pass him on the inside. Bob covers the move, and as we enter the home stretch of the third lap Bob and I are side by side, right behind the leader. 500 meters to go, I’ve got gas in the tank, and I have to get moving. Time to make a decision… GO NOW! I pull the trigger and accelerate past Bob, past the frontrunner, and into the lead. I cross the finish line, and the clock reads 3:49, a 76-second lap, 4s slower than 5:00 pace. This is the same as my 3-lap split two weeks ago. But now I am moving and energized; instead of despairing that it will take a huge kick to pull this off, I’m excited that I feel like I have one.
Lap 4: I fly around the turn and down the backstretch; I don’t look back but can’t hear an immediate pursuer. It’s my race now! MarkGuy calls out my 1400m split: 4:22. Had I been able to do the math in my head, I would have realized that I’d just run a 33s 200m; all I know is that it felt fast. Now I KNOW I am going to make it! Around the final turn, into the home stretch, everyone cheering. Less than 50m to go, right at the spot where I blew out my AT in last year’s race, I see the clock turn to 4:50. This is it, push all the way through, do not waste one step!
Finish: 4:56.0, 1st OA, a 67s final lap. That felt GREAT.
First sub-5:00 mile in 20 years, and a Big Goal reached.
In the big picture, a sub-5:00 mile is no big deal. Any competent high-school miler can do it; heck, it’s some people’s marathon pace. But it’s mine, and I’m ecstatic about it.
Then there was the matter of the 4x400m relay, with Mark, Tim, Mark’s friend Eric, and me taking the anchor spot to grab a couple extra minutes’ rest. I am sorry to say that a team of high-school girls completely lit us up. On the plus side, I believe our exchanges were vastly improved over last year.
Before we headed out to celebrate rochrunner’s retirement and my Mandrake victory, the guys from the running store took me aside for one last item of business: the famed Champion’s Bonus. With great ceremony, they refunded my $5 entry fee. Best just-over-a-buck-a-minute I’ve ever earned.
Thanks for reading and for all the good vibes you’ve sent during this journey.
ETA: Age-graded 82.0, one of the top-5 races of my life.
