Success on the Track
June 6, 2009
Today I was feeling a little lethargic, so to get the workout over with without much pain, I decided to run on the track for an hour, just doing steady state (solidly aerobic work). Once I was there, I was motivated to check my speed by doing 1×1200m. Based on my 800m time last week, I thought I could do it in 4:00, holding a solid 1:20 400m pace the whole time. My time, starting from a stop:
1. 3:59.62 (1200m)
I crossed through 400m in about 1:18, then through 600m in around 1:58, then through 800m in about 2:41, so I picked up the pace in the last 400m and beat my goal time. I was very tired, but had I been 100% fresh, fully warmed up and stretched, and wearing shorts and track spikes, I think I could have done a mile (1610m) in about 5:24, which puts me about 12 seconds off my goal pace.
Next week, I think I will do some speed work, going well faster than goal pace. I think I’ll do 4×400m at a 72-74 second pace, with lots of rest in between (3 laps, probably). This will help to get my body used to a faster-than-pace speed, so that race pace feels slower.
Oh, the world record for the mile is 3:43.13, set by Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) in Rome on July 7, 1999. This means that he would have lapped me in my 1200m run during his 1610m run, and had time to stop, turn around, and watch me cross the finish line. Had I run a mile, he would have been able to pace me for my last lap, since his post-race catch-his-breath speed is probably the same as my all-out mile speed… 
