How am I even supposed to run 1 mile? - 2016 Grand Blue Mile
The title of this blog was seriously the biggest question leading up to the Grand Blue Mile. How the heck do I pace a 1 mile race????
I received a free entry into the race from one of my employers and I told myself a long time ago that I'll never pass up a free entry into any race. The problem with being a runner, who loves to race and has 3 children, is the entry fee. The fees continue to go up and make choosing races with a tight budget extremely difficult. So when the prospect of getting a free entry into GBM came up, I couldn't pass it up...then I realized that I have NO idea on how to even race 1 mile. Not even the slightest clue.
Now before you scoff and say, "But you've raced thousands of miles. What is one mile to someone who runs 100 miles?" you have to remember that I HATED running in high school and didn't run track. I've never been one that worked on speed but rather have constantly worked on getting "faster" at long distances. That has been my focus for nearly 7 years. I can honestly say the last time I ran a single mile was in the Fall/Winter of 2004. I was coming into this race even less prepared mentally than I was my first 100.
This past Saturday evening I woke up around 2:00AM in a sweat and in a panic. This was going to be the first time in nearly 3 years that I've run in a race that will have significant crowds. What if I embarrass myself? What will people think when someone who's put so much time and effort into inspiring people to get out and be healthy can't perform well in a 1 mile race? What do I eat/drink beforehand? Should I bring my water bottle? Should I wear headphones? Should I wear my HOKA Challengers or my HOKA Huakas? The huakas are lighter, but have more miles on them. Am I going to look stupid if I wear some gnarly trail shoes to a road race? What shirt am I going to wear? And on...and on...and on that internal dialogue went for nearly 3 hours into the morning on Sunday.
I work part-time at a local running specialty shop with some incredibly talented runners. Some of which are All American track/XC athletes, one that has his professional triathlon card, one that has run the Boston marathon, one that's a track coach for a major university in the area and an owner that has seen some of the best track and distance performances over the past 30 years. They all make fun of me because of my passion for LONG distance running and when I told them about the internal conversation that I had with myself during the middle of the night, I thought most of them might rip their ab muscles from laughing so hard. This race was becoming one of the most terrifying things I've ever signed up for.
As race day approached, I was fighting a ton of congestion and took my normal ultra preparations and did a short shakeout run 2 days before and concentrated on hydrating. This may sound funny for a one mile race, but I'm chronically dehydrated and have been susceptible to calf tightness lately. I didn't do anything on Tuesday morning and found myself questioning what in the heck I was doing. It's 1 mile. Why are you so scared?
This race is pretty cool because it's in downtown Des Moines, IA and takes place in the evening. It works out really well because I didn't have to take any time off and my family got to join me. As I got home from work, I went into our bedroom to gather my gear. For someone who spends most of the week leading up to a race preparing a pack, nutrition, gear, drop bags, etc this, again, was really foreign to me. What the heck am I supposed to bring to something like this?
With my "gear" assembled, we made our way to the race start. I can't stress enough how cool and different this event is. They have 3 separate divisions. Recreational, Competitive and Invitational. I really like this approach because it allows people who just want to complete the mile to go first and then have the opportunity to watch some of the faster competitors. As we made our way to the family zone we chatted a bit with some of our friends that were down to watch or run the race and talk about how nervous this ultra runner was. With about 30 minutes to go until my race started (competitive category), I kissed my wife and kids goodbye and went out for a short shake out run.
I made my way down to the start line and met up with a fellow board member, who is also an ultra runner, and laughed at how nervous we both were to run this thing. Looking back on the nervousness that took over my life for nearly 4 days it makes me laugh. With just a couple of minutes before the start we made our way to the start line and found our way closer to the front. For someone who doesn't like crowds, this is also nerve racking. Usually with an event that is chip timed I start at the back in order to avoid so many people being around me but it was cool to be with my friend so I made due.
With 2 loud honks from the pace car and a gun blast we were off. The ensuing swell of people towards the start line is one of the things in road racing that I despise. The other thing is the people who line up toward the front of the race with no idea what they are capable of running and the constant jostling and jockeying for position. No ill will toward the event, just a major pet peeve.
Down the first couple of blocks I was really feeling the headwind and couldn't tuck in behind anyone as I was having to pass people and go around people that were walking within the first couple of hundred yards. I felt comfortable at the pace but when I looked down at my Suunto it read "4:52 avg pace". WHOA!!!!!!! What in the world am I doing? 4:52??? I've got 3/4 of a mile to go and I'm running a 4:52 pace? With a goal of sub 6:00, let blow up sequence begin.....
Between 1/4 & 1/2 I settled back a little bit, but as we got closer to the corner to turn I found myself with the unyielding desire to use the two corners I was about to make as a slingshot as I was now going to have the wind at my back....and that's what I did. As I made the two left hand turns, I found my pace go from 5:30 to 4:04 in about one city block. What the hell is a 6' 2", 185 lb man doing running a 4:04 pace????
The last .4 miles is the worst of any race that takes place downtown Des Moines. This part of town is FLAAAAAAAT and you can see forever from one side to the other and you automatically assume that the finish line is closer than it actually is. At .6 miles I was starting to blow up but I knew that I wasn't far from the finish and knew that I had the stamina to get there. This was my chance to start picking off people that had completely blown up. By this point I had gotten my pace cooled down a bit to 5:10-5:15 pace and was feeling the burps come on from the coke that I drank before the race...stupid ultra people :).....
With 1/4 left I was completely out of gas and was unable to get a complete breath because of the phlegm that was in my throat and lungs from the head cold that I'd gotten about a week earlier. With .2 left I saw one of my fellow board members who LOOOOOOOOVES running fast and running on the track. She stands roughly 5'4" and with this voice that came out of nowhere I hear her scream "KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!!!!!!!!!" It actually scared me and looking at my strava data it shows that for about a tenth of a mile my pace went back up to a 4:49. I was basically trying to get away from her as fast as I could.
With one final push I picked off a couple of additional people and cross the finish line with a time of 5:22. Elated and filled with joy I start making my way to the water. At this point I'm finding it increasingly difficult to catch my breath and come the closest I ever have to blacking out during/after a race. That was scary but it lasted mere seconds.
I found my family just a minute or two later and walked around talking to my friends who had gathered around in various locations either to spectate or run themselves. It was really cool to be there before a lot of the remainder of the field. That very rarely happens to me.
Here we are less than 24 hours later and I am still in shock. 5 min and 22 seconds to run 1 mile. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be able to cover that distance in that short amount of time. Over the past 10 years or so I have found myself becoming more and more focused on running longer and longer, but this was a great reminder of what I am able to do if I were to concentrate more on speed compared to distance. The bodies we've been given are capable of incredible feats of athleticism and this goes to show that with a lot of hard work we can do ANYTHING.
With that said, I have NO intentions of getting into competitive miles or even any track related events. They sound unbelievably terrible and something that I don't want to do :)
For such a short race, it seems silly to mention the following people but I will as always.
First and foremost, I thank my God for giving me the body to push beyond the limits that I thought were possible and do extraordinary things. I thank my wife and kids for their undying support of my passion of forward motion. I thank my friends and family for laughing at me when I told them I was having a panic attack about running a mile :) I thank UVU Racing for helping me to believe in myself. Nuun Hydration and Honey Stinger nutrition for allowing me to be on their ambassador teams. I also want to thank you, the reader, for taking your time to read about my silly adventures.
What I wore at the 2016 Grand Blue Mile
UVU Race Shorts
Injinji Performance Trail micro toe socks
CEP All sports Compression Calf Sleeves 2.0
HOKA Huaka - No longer in production (Still one of my favorite shoes)
Nuun Hydration tabs (post race)
Honey Stinger caramel waffle (pre-race)
Suunto Ambit 2R
Fitness Sports (my employer) Asic tech shirt
I received a free entry into the race from one of my employers and I told myself a long time ago that I'll never pass up a free entry into any race. The problem with being a runner, who loves to race and has 3 children, is the entry fee. The fees continue to go up and make choosing races with a tight budget extremely difficult. So when the prospect of getting a free entry into GBM came up, I couldn't pass it up...then I realized that I have NO idea on how to even race 1 mile. Not even the slightest clue.
Now before you scoff and say, "But you've raced thousands of miles. What is one mile to someone who runs 100 miles?" you have to remember that I HATED running in high school and didn't run track. I've never been one that worked on speed but rather have constantly worked on getting "faster" at long distances. That has been my focus for nearly 7 years. I can honestly say the last time I ran a single mile was in the Fall/Winter of 2004. I was coming into this race even less prepared mentally than I was my first 100.
This past Saturday evening I woke up around 2:00AM in a sweat and in a panic. This was going to be the first time in nearly 3 years that I've run in a race that will have significant crowds. What if I embarrass myself? What will people think when someone who's put so much time and effort into inspiring people to get out and be healthy can't perform well in a 1 mile race? What do I eat/drink beforehand? Should I bring my water bottle? Should I wear headphones? Should I wear my HOKA Challengers or my HOKA Huakas? The huakas are lighter, but have more miles on them. Am I going to look stupid if I wear some gnarly trail shoes to a road race? What shirt am I going to wear? And on...and on...and on that internal dialogue went for nearly 3 hours into the morning on Sunday.
I work part-time at a local running specialty shop with some incredibly talented runners. Some of which are All American track/XC athletes, one that has his professional triathlon card, one that has run the Boston marathon, one that's a track coach for a major university in the area and an owner that has seen some of the best track and distance performances over the past 30 years. They all make fun of me because of my passion for LONG distance running and when I told them about the internal conversation that I had with myself during the middle of the night, I thought most of them might rip their ab muscles from laughing so hard. This race was becoming one of the most terrifying things I've ever signed up for.
As race day approached, I was fighting a ton of congestion and took my normal ultra preparations and did a short shakeout run 2 days before and concentrated on hydrating. This may sound funny for a one mile race, but I'm chronically dehydrated and have been susceptible to calf tightness lately. I didn't do anything on Tuesday morning and found myself questioning what in the heck I was doing. It's 1 mile. Why are you so scared?
This race is pretty cool because it's in downtown Des Moines, IA and takes place in the evening. It works out really well because I didn't have to take any time off and my family got to join me. As I got home from work, I went into our bedroom to gather my gear. For someone who spends most of the week leading up to a race preparing a pack, nutrition, gear, drop bags, etc this, again, was really foreign to me. What the heck am I supposed to bring to something like this?
With my "gear" assembled, we made our way to the race start. I can't stress enough how cool and different this event is. They have 3 separate divisions. Recreational, Competitive and Invitational. I really like this approach because it allows people who just want to complete the mile to go first and then have the opportunity to watch some of the faster competitors. As we made our way to the family zone we chatted a bit with some of our friends that were down to watch or run the race and talk about how nervous this ultra runner was. With about 30 minutes to go until my race started (competitive category), I kissed my wife and kids goodbye and went out for a short shake out run.
I made my way down to the start line and met up with a fellow board member, who is also an ultra runner, and laughed at how nervous we both were to run this thing. Looking back on the nervousness that took over my life for nearly 4 days it makes me laugh. With just a couple of minutes before the start we made our way to the start line and found our way closer to the front. For someone who doesn't like crowds, this is also nerve racking. Usually with an event that is chip timed I start at the back in order to avoid so many people being around me but it was cool to be with my friend so I made due.
With 2 loud honks from the pace car and a gun blast we were off. The ensuing swell of people towards the start line is one of the things in road racing that I despise. The other thing is the people who line up toward the front of the race with no idea what they are capable of running and the constant jostling and jockeying for position. No ill will toward the event, just a major pet peeve.
Down the first couple of blocks I was really feeling the headwind and couldn't tuck in behind anyone as I was having to pass people and go around people that were walking within the first couple of hundred yards. I felt comfortable at the pace but when I looked down at my Suunto it read "4:52 avg pace". WHOA!!!!!!! What in the world am I doing? 4:52??? I've got 3/4 of a mile to go and I'm running a 4:52 pace? With a goal of sub 6:00, let blow up sequence begin.....
Between 1/4 & 1/2 I settled back a little bit, but as we got closer to the corner to turn I found myself with the unyielding desire to use the two corners I was about to make as a slingshot as I was now going to have the wind at my back....and that's what I did. As I made the two left hand turns, I found my pace go from 5:30 to 4:04 in about one city block. What the hell is a 6' 2", 185 lb man doing running a 4:04 pace????
The last .4 miles is the worst of any race that takes place downtown Des Moines. This part of town is FLAAAAAAAT and you can see forever from one side to the other and you automatically assume that the finish line is closer than it actually is. At .6 miles I was starting to blow up but I knew that I wasn't far from the finish and knew that I had the stamina to get there. This was my chance to start picking off people that had completely blown up. By this point I had gotten my pace cooled down a bit to 5:10-5:15 pace and was feeling the burps come on from the coke that I drank before the race...stupid ultra people :).....
With 1/4 left I was completely out of gas and was unable to get a complete breath because of the phlegm that was in my throat and lungs from the head cold that I'd gotten about a week earlier. With .2 left I saw one of my fellow board members who LOOOOOOOOVES running fast and running on the track. She stands roughly 5'4" and with this voice that came out of nowhere I hear her scream "KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!!!!!!!!!" It actually scared me and looking at my strava data it shows that for about a tenth of a mile my pace went back up to a 4:49. I was basically trying to get away from her as fast as I could.
With one final push I picked off a couple of additional people and cross the finish line with a time of 5:22. Elated and filled with joy I start making my way to the water. At this point I'm finding it increasingly difficult to catch my breath and come the closest I ever have to blacking out during/after a race. That was scary but it lasted mere seconds.
I found my family just a minute or two later and walked around talking to my friends who had gathered around in various locations either to spectate or run themselves. It was really cool to be there before a lot of the remainder of the field. That very rarely happens to me.
Here we are less than 24 hours later and I am still in shock. 5 min and 22 seconds to run 1 mile. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be able to cover that distance in that short amount of time. Over the past 10 years or so I have found myself becoming more and more focused on running longer and longer, but this was a great reminder of what I am able to do if I were to concentrate more on speed compared to distance. The bodies we've been given are capable of incredible feats of athleticism and this goes to show that with a lot of hard work we can do ANYTHING.
With that said, I have NO intentions of getting into competitive miles or even any track related events. They sound unbelievably terrible and something that I don't want to do :)
For such a short race, it seems silly to mention the following people but I will as always.
First and foremost, I thank my God for giving me the body to push beyond the limits that I thought were possible and do extraordinary things. I thank my wife and kids for their undying support of my passion of forward motion. I thank my friends and family for laughing at me when I told them I was having a panic attack about running a mile :) I thank UVU Racing for helping me to believe in myself. Nuun Hydration and Honey Stinger nutrition for allowing me to be on their ambassador teams. I also want to thank you, the reader, for taking your time to read about my silly adventures.
What I wore at the 2016 Grand Blue Mile
UVU Race Shorts
Injinji Performance Trail micro toe socks
CEP All sports Compression Calf Sleeves 2.0
HOKA Huaka - No longer in production (Still one of my favorite shoes)
Nuun Hydration tabs (post race)
Honey Stinger caramel waffle (pre-race)
Suunto Ambit 2R
Fitness Sports (my employer) Asic tech shirt
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