Charlotte’s Summer Track Mile Recap 5/31/2011
Tuesday evening I was headed across Charlotte to do something that I hadn't done in several years – run in the Summer Track Series. I guess above all; I wanted to see what I can do on the track. After all, my marathon training has taken me far from the track.
My motivation was so high to run the series that I signed up for all 5 weeks.
Rolling out of my car at 5:45 PM, the heat hit me hard. Pretty much the same thought was on everyone else's mind as well.
I put in a couple of miles warm up and then headed back to the track to finish with some strides.
Confessing here, I had not real idea what I would be able to do. Matt told me that he was planning to run 80 second quarters which actually sounded pretty good. Still, getting through the first lap and seeing what the clock actually said was going to be my true indicator.
Tim marked off the start so that it was 1609 meters for the full mile. With a few prerace instructions and the firing of the starter's pistol, we were off. Going into the first turn and down the back stretch, my focus was on settling into a nice comfortable pace. The Paul and Aaron were going out pretty hard with Chad close behind. The rest of us were stringing out behind them.
My first quarter was 78. There was some shock at seeing the clock because the time was faster than expected. My breathing was a little more labored than expected and a far cry from marathon pace. By the end of the 2nd lap in 78 seconds and 2:36 for the half, my arms were starting to tighten up. Definitely, tight arms were not a good sign so my thought shifted to trying to run more relaxed. Down the back stretch and round the track for the 3rd lap, the clock said 3:56 or an 80 second lap. Slowing down 2 second doesn't seem like much but in a mile 2 second is huge. My final lap found Joshua pushing the pace as he passed me. Could I stay with him? No, it wasn't happening today.
He finished 2 seconds in front of me.
My time was 5:15 which honestly, I was very happy to run. For not having ran any speed work and to have felt pretty decent the entire way, 5:15 was a result that could grow into something maybe a little faster.
With my sunglasses in hand, here's some first person video of my race.
Thoughts from the Cool Down Runner
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