Six Minute Mile

Who wants to be distracted from a view like this?

So earlier this spring Shauna and I made some goals for various parts of our lives. One of my goals was to train so that I could run a 5 minute mile. I had never really tested myself with the single mile before. I have been able to consistently run 10K at around a 7:30 per-mile pace.

I thought that a good challenge would be to lower my 10K pace by seeing how fast I could run the mile-something akin to a speed workout. I have been fiddling with the mile all summer long along, but this has usually taken a back seat to my longer runs and weight training.

Well I hopped on the treadmill this morning and started my run with about 1.5 miles at a 6:53 pace. At the 1.5 mile mark I kicked it up to a 6:00 mile pace. About .5 miles in I was pretty sure I was not going to be able to hold the pace for the next .5 miles because I could feel my legs starting to fatigue. (This is the one virtue that I have found with the treadmill--that it makes it harder to break your pace since it is constant task master.) Well, I decided that I was going to muscle through the last .5 miles and barely made it without falling on my face and being shot off the back of the treadmill. So now the bar is raised (at least on the treadmill).

Shauna says I should run with music and assures me it will help me run faster. I also recently read an article in the NY Times about this exact thing and the conclusion of the article was the same. Mostly though I don't want to feel like I need music when I am out on a beautiful trail running and I have plenty of thoughts to keep me company and motivate me. Also, the lawyer in me seems to think that more and more races will ban such devices for safety's sake. So why not just be ready and not have to ween myself for races that don't allow headphones?