did a two-mile time trial on the nixa track this morning. the weather was perfect: reasonably cool, light rain, and minimal wind. i started with a one mile warm-up and was actually experiencing some jitters. i had an ambitious goal of running under 12 minutes. the plan was to use my gps watch to get on 6 minute pace and stay there.took it out quick the first 200 meters. was on about a 5:45 pace. was trying to relax but also not fall too far off the target pace. after about 1200 meters i started to question what motivated me to do this. almost shifted gears and thought about finishing strong for a mile and calling it a day. resisted the temptation. came through the mile in 6:10.80 [manually] and 6:06.27 [gps].
the beginning of the second mile i was struggling to stay relaxed and maintain. i knew this would be the most challenging portion of the distance, and that if i could get through the next two laps i would be alright. during the final lap i actually had to educate a runner about yielding the inside lane to those running faster. it felt like i finished strong over the last 150 meters. second mile: 6:17.51 [manually] and 6:11.36 [gps]. two-mile time: 12:28.31
i am pleased. i was dreaming of sub-12, but i think this is a good start. the focus over the last few months has been endurance. following the "minneapolis marathon" i will step up my focus on speed work. my ambitious goals include running boston qualifying time at the "route 66 marathon" on 11.22.2009, and developing my running fitness to the point that i will be able to complete a marathon at 5:55 per-mile pace (possibly before or around my 40th birthday). i am committed to not letting my ambitions suck the joy and life out of my running journey.
3 comments:
You're becoming quite the speedy guy, Robert! Great time and nice effort out there. You're gonna be breakin' records in no time at all if you keep this up. Also, I'm certain you're gonna qualify for Boston at this rate. It's in the bag, bro.
Today I found out that a strange pain I've been dealing with for two weeks or so has been IT-band syndrome. Sucks, and sucks hard. Knee area is killing, especially downhills. I may post about it in the near future.
Again, keep it up, bro! You're doing amazingly well.
-Mir
That is super fast! You should be very proud. Great job
mir: thanks for the encouragement - i really appreciate it.
really sorry to hear about your it-band issues; i don't know much about that and will have to do some research. i will check out your blog and see if you post more about it.
quick recovery to you.
kim: thanks - i am hopeful of getting back some of my old high school speed :) it was great to read about your experience at green bay. as a die-hard viking fan - that would be a tough one for me :)
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