Mile Time Trial

Last night we met at the track for the first time this season. Thankfully the college track team was done with their workout so we had immediate access.

We did our standing drills, a mile warm-up by running around the block and then our usual running drills (skipping, side galloping, strides, high knees, and butt kicks) for another half mile.

Then we tested out our pacing by running 200 meters. Almost all of us ran WAY too fast. Okay, got to learn to dial it back a bit.

Then we moved onto the workout. Run one mile.

That was it.

Just one mile, you're asking? What kind of workout is that?

Well, this was a mile time trial. For those of us who didn't run on a team in high school or college it's a new concept. Run one mile and aim for your best time. Essentially one mile all out.

"But I don't know what time to aim for!!!" I whined.

Coach Holly looked at me and said, "7 minutes."

Gulp.

For reference, I believe the fastest mile I've ever run (if the Garmin is to be believed) was 7:39.

But Coach yelled "Go" and off we went. I hit the 200 meter mark right on target but I admit to slowing down a little bit. Something about the second lap on a 4-laps-to-a-mile track just psychs me out. This is how it goes:

Lap 1: Balls to the wall. Oh wait, don't go out too fast.
Lap 2: Two more of these????
Lap 3: One more after this. I can do it.
Lap 4: Almost done! Push it push it push it.

So my final mile time last night? 7:31

I'm pretty sure that's my fastest mile ever. Excellent.

This gives me a great base to work from. And I think I have a little more in me. I'm looking forward to finding out.

Total mileage plus cool-down: approximately 3.75 (I forgot to use my Garmin for part of the warm up and all of the cool-down)