It's just a mile

July 10 brought the MCRRC Rockville evening mile and my 33rd race of the year. It was a nice evening...perhaps just a bit too sunny but not really anything to complain about. I saw Blair Jones when I arrived and I immediately decided that she would be my target for the day. She has been running faster than me at the longer distances but I thought I might be able to outrun her in a shorter race. I also saw Christiana C. before the race. She was not looking forward to the race as she had spme aches and pains from a previous workout to contend with. I told her she would beat me, given how she trounced me at the Triple Crown Races. She wasn't so sure.

I signed up for the first and slowest heat. This heat was for runners with expected finishing times of 8:30 or more. I was just hoping to 1)not have to walk at any time, 2)break 10 minutes, and 3 beat Blair.

I started on the far outside at the start so that I could have the same watch time as the official clock. It was a very large heat...perhaps 30 runners...so it took about 200 yards before I could work my way to the inside lane. By that point, Blair was about 20 yards in front of me and Christiana was about 30 yards in front of me. There were a few other runners scattered between all of us as well. I concentrated on keeping a slow and maintainable pace, which I figured to be about 10 minutes. I was almost right on the money after 1 lap, completing it in 2:26. My heart rate was 142 after the first lap.

I paced myself behind Blair for the rest of the race. I never let het get more than 30 yards in front of me. Christiana increased her lead to about 50 yards by the end of the 2nd lap. I finished the 2nd lap in 4:54. The heart rate was 151. I was clearly pushing it. My pace was great but could I keep it up?

Lap 3 is supposedly the critical lap in a 1 mile race. You need to exert enough energy to have a good lap time and still be able to kick during the 4th lap. I finished the 3rd lap in 7:22! I was running very consistent lap times. Of course, I had Blair to thank as I was just hanging out behind her. The trouble was my heart rate was now 158. I was hurting. I briefly considered taking a quick walk break but I kept telling myself "just 1 more lap, just 1 more lap". I started closing on Blair and some other runners as we neared the end of the back straightaway. I must have sounded a like a freight train coming up behind people. I was huffing and puffing. I pulled even with Blair on turn 4 and passed her pretty easily as we reached the straight away. I actually felt pretty good! That Christiana was the only runner in front of me with 50 yards left (others had already finished). I pushed mightily and came oh so close but I couldn't quite get there. If the race was 10 yards longer I think I had her. She finished with a time of 9:28:47 and I finished in 9:30:59. I think it was actually a little closer than the time indicates as I had to brake just a little as we finished since we finished in a tight little chute and I didn't want to run over her. All in all, I'm pretty happy with that time. I met my goals and I felt pretty good afterwards. It also gave me room for improvement during the rest of the year.