Mile attempt #1

I don't know how many attempts it will take, but it's got to start somewhere, right? I feel like this is one of those shoot-for-the-stars/ reach-for-the-impossible kind of goals. As I mentioned on Monday, Tuesday was to be the first National Run A Mile Day (I hope you got your mile in), and I was going to take my first step toward the sub-5 minute mile mark. My goal for today was to run around 5:30.

I got up early Tuesday morning, got ready and headed out. My course was a mile long block near my house. I did about a 9 minute warm-up, and then got ready to start. Just as I started, three relatively large dogs ran from a nearby doorstep barking playfully. I was very pleased (I've had my fill of dogs chasing me during a run) that they obeyed me when I told them to "Go on home!" Once they got back into the yard, I started again without any problems.

I had measured out my quarter mile splits online, but I was a little confused at the first split which was about 14 seconds slow. This threw me off and the next (correct) split was 18 seconds fast. My last 2 splits were just a few seconds slower than hoped for, and I ended up with a time of 5:36 for the mile.

This was a tough run, and there will be a lot of work necessary to reach my goal. But, I know I'll get it! Two things that I thought will help me (beyond correct splits) will be to get a good nights sleep and get some good fuel prior to the run. Late nights, early mornings, and nothing but a granola bar pre-run probably don't lead to optimal performance.

Stay tuned for attempt #2.