I'm No Roger Bannister....

For those non running history buffs, Roger Bannister was the first runner to break the 4 minute mile in 1954. With no great illusions of breaking that barrier I headed out for a run with Lauren on Sunday. We did our usual loop on the Haverford College trail and then stopped by the track to see if I could cross off one more goal (sub 6:00 mile) before 2008 came to a close. Lauren dutifuly sat in the stands and I toed the starting line. Having not run too much lately and chilly temperatures (44 or so), I had a sufficient number of excuses if I didn't succeed!

I told myself to go out at a moderate pace around 1:30 a lap and hope that I'd have a late kick. So much for that as I made the first lap in 1:15. I was definitely pushing a little too hard, but oh well, at least I had a time buffer now! I definitely felt the effects mentally and physically on lap two, but I held on to run that in 1:35 (2:50) with a high 5 from my on track cheerleader. With only 10 seconds to play with I knew I really needed to have a strong 3rd lap. On the back stretch of lap 3 I was really struggling and felt the strong breeze in my face tempting me not to make it. I rounded the bend and completed that in 1:34 (4:24). I knew I had a shot at it now, but that I'd really need to focus. I pushed myself around the track and forced myself to relax on the last turn and just focus on Lauren at the finish line. I gave it a hard last kick and clicked my watch at the mile mark. Bent in half I finally stumbled back over to Lauren and held up the watch for us to see if I'd made it...

5:53 looked up at us both from my watch and another 2008 goal had been accomplished! It took me a bit to recover, but I was really happy to cross it off the mirror when I got home. It's almost time to write up my 2009 goals, maybe a new PR in the mile will be on it!

Read more...

A Tradition Unlike Any Other...The Turkey Trot

Thanksgiving Day family football has found a new family activity to contend with...the Dallas Turkey Trot. Rory and Jeremy joined us this year after a long drive and late arrival from San Antonio, so it truly was a family affair. In addition to some 38,000 other people, we made our way to downtown nice and early on Turkey Day Morning. Despite an early morning chill and lack of sleep, we checked out all the free samples and I snuck off for a 10 minute warm-up. It was hard to find a place to loosen up, but I followed a few collegiate runners to some open streets. Seeing the homeless men lined up by the Stew Pot (a local soup kitchen) really put some perspective on the day.

It was finally time to line-up in the massive starting area, but remembering the chaos at the start last year, I moved up slightly. It proved not to be far enough up as I dodged pilgrims, indians, dogs dressed as indians, and walkers for the better part of 3/4 of a mile. However, I must have been energizd by the crowds as I still made the first mile in 7:13. That put me ahead of my initial goal of breaking an hour (7:30s), but slightly behind my stretch goal of keeping my pace under 7s.

I tried to remind myself that it was going to be a long 8 miles, and that I needed to fall into a good pace, rather than try to gain back the time right away. I was actually successful in holding myself back and was through the second in 7:03 (despite stopping to grab the dropped cell phone of the runner in front of me!). With both opening miles over 7 I tried to pick-up the pace slightly as we ran right through the center of downtown dallas. The runners were finally beginning to thin out a little as I still searched for a consistent rhythm. Mile 3 was definitely quicker (6:50), but I wondered if I'd expended too much energy.

Mile 4 featured a few hills as we made it past Dealey Plaza (of Kennedy fame), Dallas Reunion Tower, and Reunion Arena (of Maverick and Stars fame). The weaving and hills understandably took a hit on my pace, but I was pretty pleased to see 7:02 on my watch. Halfway through, I was looking great time-wise, but definitely a little hesitant about whether I'd have a late kick.

Miles 5 (7:11) and 6 (7:18) were across the aqueducts of Dallas and took us briefly into Oak Cliff in South Dallas. Surprisingly, though, I had unknowingly PRed the 5 mile portion of the race in 35:21, about a minute faster than my time at the Narberth 5 miler. I was really excited to figure that out later as I was also on pace to PR the 8 mile Turkey Trot.

Here I am doing my best to get my picture taken and

crossing the aqueduct (Reunion Arena is in the background).

We were finally headed back for home with a gorgeous view of the city skyline and a little downhill to greet us. I could see the Mile 7 sign at the end of the bridge, but it just seemed like it would never come. Usually late in a race I've got enough kick to catch a few people and really pick up the pace, but I think I was short a few long runs to really have the power to do it. I eventually made it to the mile 7 marker in 6:58. Quicker, yes, but still not fast enough to really have a shot at pulling my overall pace under 7.

The finish is about a half mile uphill to the front of city hall. The crowd had definitely picked up at this point and I continued to try and push hard even though I was fading (and gasp! being passed by a couple runners). I did finally manage a last burst and mugged for the cameras at the finish.

After taking a moment to catch my breath I saw that I had finished in 56:47 (good for 406 out of 7258 overall and 51 out of 324 in my age group). It was well past my goal of under an hour, just shy of a sub-7 (56:00) pace, and a good 7 minutes ahead of last year. With a new PR (make that two) in hand, I grabbed some water and braved the crowds to try and watch the family finish amidst 30,000 others in the fun run/walk 3-miler. Thanksgiving dinner and seconds never felt so guilt free!

Read more...