Stats/Goals
Distance: 1 mile
Location: Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Current PR: 6:02 (2001, PE Timed mile @ Ocean Lakes High School)
"Recent" PR: 6:09 (2014, ATC Prediction Mile)
90% Goal: 6:10
50% Goal: 6:00
10% Goal: 5:45
Result: 5:55
1/4 Splits: 1:23, 1:24, 1:29, 1:36 (from GPS, so it doesn't add evenly)
Summary
A day at work, a car accident, Atlanta rush hour, and thunderstorms all conspired to thwart my attempt at a new mile PR. Fortunately, the forces of good triumphed over the forces of evil and created an awesome evening.
Details
Trek to the Track
Yesterday was daunting just to make it to Emory. The plan was to leave work by 4:00, grab some fast-food dinner, and carpool there.
I ended up having a 3:00 meeting, but I was still able to duck out on time, change, and hop in the car with plenty of time to... until I got rear-ended less than a mile from the office. Awesome.
We pull to the side and I took a quick inventory of my body. It was a low-speed collision, so I wasn't overly concerned. Once I was satisfied that I was uninjured, I furiously messaged people to let them know not to wait on me and called Angelina to let her know I'm in one piece.
I had given the guy a few minutes to be the first to do the polite "are you ok?", but he was still sitting on the phone. So I got out of my car and asked him (he was fine). After I walked off to start taking pictures, he sheepishly got out and to ask how I was. I called Alpharetta PD and a car was already dispatched, but it was another 45 minutes before I'm able to drive out of there.
I dug into what was supposed to be my "hour before race Clif bar" while driving down. Traffic on 400 and downtown was 45 minutes worse than it should have been, but it wasn't too bad because school is out. I was a little shaken from the accident, so my mental plan was to get to the track and walk somewhere to get some food. It's a college, so there HAS to be food nearby...right?
All Comers
Unfortunately, there was no food nearby (2 miles and 30 mins of traffic for Wendy's? ugh...), but a friend spotted me another energy bar and Angelina has a spare half-PB&J, so my hunger was sated at least temporarily.
This is only the second track meet I've ever gone to (the first was earlier this summer). The Track Club puts on a series of weekly meets at Emory throughout the summer. They are a mix of activities for young kids, stiff competition for the Middle/High School aged kids, and all levels between the ATC Elites and walkers for the adults.
Angelina had put together a group with one of the other run leaders and two of our trainees for the 4x400 relay. I ran around taking pictures of them going around the track. Everyone had a great time and Angelina managed to cut a few seconds off of the 400 from a few weeks ago.
I knew my race would take a long time to get started. There were 11 heats before mine and the first one didn't get going until around 8:40. I had no plans to warm up until the first six had finished.
As the first one started, foreboding clouds with occasional lightning strikes started rolling in. During the second, they announced they would be delaying the meet. Awesome.
It's Like Raaaaaaaiiiinnnn...
We took shelter, but it never really rained much. There were a few loud thunderclaps and close strikes, so it was certainly for the best, but no less disappointing. We had some great conversation with friends and played with an adorable dog.
As the evening had worn on, my right calf and heel had started tightening up. I'm not exactly sure what was wrong. It didn't quite feel like PF, but I couldn't get it loose until after I got home and some time with the lacrosse ball.
Time ticked by and we all were starting to get worried that it would get cancelled completely. I had really no hope of getting any kind of focus together the prepare for the race. A few of the Track Club people came by to let us know we'd get Grand Prix participation, but that wasn't my goal for the evening anyways.
10:00 rolled around. Storm had largely died down and people were making their way back onto the track. We wandered outside and found a significantly diminished crowd. We had ten minutes to warm up, and then they were going to let us run. Unfortunately, that meant running everyone in just two heats with no official times or results.
Race
Still a little unsure about my calf, I took two and a half warm-up laps sprinkled with some quick striders. The leg felt fine while running, so I decided I could still go for my pace. I didn't have any time for any coordinated pre-race ritual stretching, but, being an evening race, I was pretty well limbered up already. If anything, I was mostly worried about being out of the game mentally from the long day.
They divided us into two groups (faster/slower than 7:00). The faster group lined up first. I was about three deep from the line, which ended up being right about where I should have been.
I went through the first turn much faster than my 6:00 target pace just for positioning concerns. I eventually settled in and felt a lot more comfortable than I thought I would for clearing the first lap in 1:25. There were two kids (around 12) around me that were just flying.
I slowed down a bit for the second and third laps (watching the clock, both were around 1:30). Going into the first turn of lap four, I got passed by a friend who I knew was also aiming for just-under-six. So, I stayed right behind her. We came around for the home stretch and I was able to kick a little bit for the last 50m. When I could see the clcok, I knew all I had to do was keep my legs moving, I was easily going to break 6.
In the end, I think I had another 10 seconds in me that I could have pushed. Regardless, the mile was the only distance I ever really "ran" in high school, so it was the only timed record I still had. I've known for a long time that I'm in a lot better shape than I was then, but it's nice to finally supplant that last record.
It was certainly a roundabout journey, but this race was exactly what I wanted.
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