Mile markers…

Last fall, I wrote that one goal for the 2020 running year was to train for the mile to see what kind of time I could still post. There are three reasons. While many runners go for longer distances as they get older, I thought it would be interesting to engage in a mental game of accepting that I might not post my fastest mile ever but seeing how fast can I run 5,280 feet right now. Also, it’s a different form of training in terms of speed and mileage and I felt that could be beneficial, mentally and physically. And, I’m an untamed runner. Bucking convention is something I enjoy.

Since that time, I’ve mentioned a few updates on how I’m progressing with the training. The odds of competing in an open mile in the next several months are slim but I still have the possibility in mind. This past Saturday, I did an all-out mile on our treadmill and discovered the following.

Running a time trial on a treadmill is difficult. In fact, I believe I run much faster outside. Recent examples reinforce this. A couple of weeks ago, I barely kept my per-mile pace at under 7:00 on a six-mile run on the treadmill while fully caffeinated and fueled. The next week I ran sub-7:00 miles on a six-mile run having just rolled out of bed and into my running shoes. No coffee, no fuel. Given that I’ve also posted well under 7:00 miles on six-mile runs outside recently while fully caffeinated and fully fueled, the evidence for being faster outside is pretty conclusive.

On March 31, I did an all-out mile in my neighborhood doing two laps on our half-mile circle. My time was 5:10. While I had a hard time believing that was accurate, given how my 5K pace should translate, I measured the course again and got 1 mile for two loops. But, let’s say that because of how I ran the tangents, my distance was off by .05 miles. This would put me closer to 5:25 to 5:30 and that is a time that, while still on the faster end of my expectations, was one I could buy.

This past Saturday, while I have less speedwork on my feet, I still only posted 5:51 on the treadmill. It’s not uncommon for me to open a 5K at a sub-6:00 pace and though it’s reckless and probably means I wasn’t focusing, I also will still finish the 5K in an average pace of 6:00-6:25 per mile. The point is that I may pay later for a sub-6:00 opening mile but I also don’t completely fall apart so I should be able to go faster than 5:51 when doing an all-out mile.
So what does this mean for my attempts at the mile? The next time I do a time trial, I will do so outside and make sure the measurement is spot-on. I’ve been doing more push-ups to get better upper-body strength and I can start the speedwork again. 5:51 was a little disappointing but given that it was on the treadmill, it’s acceptable, it at least was comfortably under 6:00, and if I’m routinely faster outside, I can expect better results there. When I first conceived of doing all-out mile training, hitting a 4:59 was a “stretch” goal. If the 5:10 was accurate, or even 5:25, while dropping that much time in a mile is a lot, given that I hadn’t really gotten into heavy speed training, maybe the 4:59 is possible. That being said, I also would have been pleased with something in the 5:20s and given that there are still unknowns, I’d be okay with that.