Are we there, yet?
A good warm up is critical for a mile. 10-15 minutes of jogging won't suffice because you'll be starting at a much faster pace. While warm ups vary a lot, what I've found works for me is 1.5-2 miles of jogging and easy running. I follow that with 4-8 strides of 60-80m starting slowly and gradually increasing the pace until I'm running about mile race pace or slightly faster at the end of the last one or two. I want to feel like I'm moving fast but relaxed. If possible I time that to finish 5-10 minutes before the race starts. If I have a longer wait, I'll take an occasional 40-50m jog to stay loose and keep my HR elevated.
Hopefully you have a good idea of a reasonable time goal. Ideally you'll want to run very close to even splits for the four quarters with the first and last being slightly faster. The biggest problems most inexperienced milers have are starting too fast, then relaxing too much or losing concentration or being too tired by the start of the third quarter, any or all of which result in a big slow down in that quarter. That third quarter particularly can be deceptive, because you need to increase your perceived effort to maintain and even pace.
I think it would really help, if you have the training time, to run some 400m intervals at race pace with 400m jog recoveries. 8-10 would be good, but if you can run only 4-6, even that will help. Take warning, though, that if you're struggling to run 4-6 x 400m with a 400m jog recovery, that pace is probably too fast. I've found a good rule of thumb for myself and the kids I've coached that you should be able to run 8-10 intervals at mile race pace with that much recovery. Keep in mind 400m is slightly short of 440 yds (a quarter mile), so you need to adjust the mile time to slightly more (3-4 seconds) than 4 x avg 400m interval time. E,g, is you average 90 seconds per 400m interval, that gives a mile target time of about 6:03-6:04, not 6:00.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
The biggest problems most inexperienced milers have are starting too fast, then relaxing too much or losing concentration or being too tired by the start of the third quarter, any or all of which result in a big slow down in that quarter.
That was my problem, I fixed it by not looking at my watch during the race. In doing that I never had that oh shit, I'm running too fast I need to slow down moment.
I stilled slowed during the third quarter, but it was not the complete fall off the face of the earth slow down I experienced with the prior events.
Since we seem to be getting more posts about running the mile, I thought it would be fun to see how many I've run and how my experience stacks up against others here. I kept losing track of the count, but I'd estimate I've run about 150-160 races at 1500m or the mile, probably a higher total than most people have for races of all distances.
Walk-Jogger
I've run just two 1-mile races this year, and probably not more than 5 total in the past 5 years? Probably not more than 20-25 1600/1-mile actual races in my life total. There aren't many of them around here and I miss a few due to training or racing conflicts or injuries. My usual warm-up for any race is a very slow 1600m then a second 1600m jogging slowly but with a handful of fast strides thrown in. I like to have this finished 8-10 minutes before the start of a race.For a mile race I may do 2-3 more short fast strides while waiting for the start. I could do more warm-up. I would not do any less. The adrenaline of running an actual race replaces some of the warm-up I would need in training. I don't try to run even splits in a race, and as a result I don't.
1) First lap for me is always a relaxed and easy float but it is the fastest lap of my mile race.
2) Lap two is a blur and it's starting to get tough, but it's nothing compared to whats coming up just around the corner...
3) Lap 3 is the slowest and I'm usually breaking out into a cold sweat and hating life at that point.
4) Lap 4 is the second fastest for me and it hurts like hell. The final 100m sprint to the finish line is exquisite torture.
In my last mile race this past June my very un-even splits for laps 2,3,& 4 were +11, +13, +6 seconds slower than lap 1. My first 1-mile race this year was run on an indoor track that was shorter than 400's but longer than 200 meters, and I didn't get any lap split times. But I ran at a similar effort level per lap.
When I do hard 1600m repeats in training with 2-8 minutes of rest in between, the 3rd 1600m repeat is generally the fastest one of the group, for about the same level of effort, I've noticed. I usually try to run a big negative split in fast 1600m training runs, like over 3 / under 3 for each half, unless I'm really going all out for time (not often) , then I do it just like I race it. Running the first half a bit slower seems to shift some of the stress/pain of the run for after the finish, when I'm already stopped and can't do anything more about it.
I don't know if I've run more than 2 actual 1500m races in my life, and that would have been a long time ago.
Retired & Loving It
Race update: Today I ran the race. As a preview, last Sunday I ran the route several times for this neighborhood race in Morningside.
Everyone provided excellent advice regarding prepping for the race. Unfortunately, life and home events precluded from running much this week and my plan to run at a local high school track on Wednesday after work.
This morning as we (DW & I) left the house early, I was feeling confident and loose. Then the inevitable occurred about 20 minutes from the house. First time ever, I forgot to pin my race bib on my shirt. The bib was still on my nightstand at home. So we rushed back to the house and headed back towards the race.
Fortunately, parking was better than expected. I parked near the finish line. My DW walked to a local bakery for coffee and pastry while I ran to the start line one mile way. I was able to get in another two miles before the lineup at the starting line The race was gun time with lots of young kids with parents at the front of the starting line.
As you can imagine, when the start commenced, it was madness with young children mixed with adult runners focused on a quick start.
By the 2 minute mark for me, there was running room. I stayed focused on trying to reach my goal.(sub 8:00). This course had a slight downhill at the start followed by a left turn with uphill running , a short sharp right uphill run, then another run straight away to the finish.line. My finishing time was 7:54.
For me the race was a victory because I accomplished my goal and was rewarded like all runners of legal age with a complimentary Sweetwater 420 draft beer. When one views my training log, it's evident I'm slow but within my realm I'm progressing. Now, to use what I learn in this one mile race for my next 5K on Thanksgiving morning.
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” - T.S. Eliot
For me the race was a victory because I accomplished my goal and was rewarded like all runners of legal age with a complimentary Sweetwater 420 draft beer.
Excellent!
Congrats on the sub-8:00 and meeting our goal.
I hope someone speaks to the RD about the dangers of all those kids up front. Someone is going to get trampled one of these years.