Forums >Running 101>What's realistic? Sub 4:30 mile.
Just Be
I don't want to say whether I believe your claims or not, but this could all be cleared up fairly quickly if you would provide evidence as to who you are and the race that you ran the 4:01.
I guess I shouldn't have answered your direct question about my previous PR, then. I'm trying to totally start anew with the assumption that I have no extensive running past history, if that makes sense.
Runners run
No, it doesn't make sense. You ran 4:01 not very long ago and you are still a young man. These two facts are extremely important to you, or to someone coaching you, as you try to get "down" to a 4:30 mile. You'll have to pardon many of us if we can't get past this piece.
I'm going to take a lot of heat for this I'm sure, but the race where I ran the 4:01 was not an official race, in fact, it was just me running on the track at the time, being timed by a friend. I didn't even run on a team in college for various reasons that I'd rather not talk about, but that still doesn't change the fact that I ran the mile in a 4:01. Having said the above, Yes, it wasn't officially timed. Yes, it could easily have been off because of that but I trust the accuracy of the person who timed it. Yes, it was on an 'olympic standard' 8 lane 400m track. Yes, the track is outdoors. I think that covers the first onslaught. The day was rather calm, it was in the spring, nice low humidity, sunny, and I had 2 people cheering me on.
"Good-looking people have no spine. Their art never lasts. They get the girls, but we're smarter." - Lester Bangs
undue monkey
This is beyond crazy at this point. 4:01 milers don't pay for college. They don't pay for shoes. They are unleashed at multiple times during a season to drop a hammer down. They snap their fingers at the bell lap. Their workouts are beyond crazy. And you're saying the weather contributed to your 4:01 because there was low humidity and it was calm? Plus, and I do mean this sincerely when you go to other message boards, 4:01 milers don't use smiley faces as often as you do.
Slow-smooth-fast
"I've been following Eddy's improvement over the last two years on this site, and it's been pretty dang solid. Sure the weekly mileage has been up and down, but over the long haul he's getting out the door and has turned himself into quite a runner. He's only now just figuring out his potential. Consistency in running is measured in years, not weeks. And over the last couple of years, Eddy's made great strides" Jeff 14 Jan 2009
absolutely fantastic!
I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle at this point. I'll defend one last point and then bow out of this discussion with regard to defending myself. I just mentioned the weather in the case that anyone was interested, I never said that it did or didn't contribute to my final time. Keep in mind that correlation does not imply causation; just because I don't fit the profile of other fast runners doesn't mean that I'm not a fast runner. I feel like the recent posts in this thread have left me in a negative light among some of the posters on this board and that was not my intent at all. I truly do enjoy it here and want to keep posting, and I'd like to ask if we can all just agree to disagree on this issue and I'll do my best not to bring it up anymore.
Very good. You know whether you ran a 4:01 mile or not and you don't need that accomplishment validated by some message board. Also, don't take my cynicism as being uninterested in your pursuit of a 4:30 mile so I hope you keep us updated on the ups and downs of your training. I would however recommend a video at your next attempt to shut up some of the naysayers.
Thanks, I will keep you guys updated on my progress as I hit various major milestones. As to the video thing, I can provide one, but I've watched a few on youtube just to keep the motivation up and I can tell you from the comments there, it won't shut up the naysayers. My best bet for accomplishing that is to meet up with someone from the boards who is well known and respected by the majority of the regulars here and lives near my area and ask them to record and then vouch that they were the ones who recorded the video. *cough, trishierunner*
If I remember correctly from the CR forums, there is someone who could vouch for you. A co-worker of yours posts regularly here: http://runningahead.com/groups/LOWHRTR/Forum If he vouches for you, I'll believe it.
To get back to your goal of a 4:30 mile (BTW 4 laps of a HS track is actually only 1600 meters) #1 What was your fastest 1600m in High School? That would be a better gauge than a mile timed by a friend. … a good friend I may add. #2 Looking at your log… you will need a lot more miles under your belt at a quicker tempo. For example I ran a 1600m last spring to test my fitness. I ran a 4:59. At the time I was in fairly good shape and I was running easy runs at a 7:15 tempo or faster. My harder runs were in the mid to low 6:00 pace for 45:00 to an hour. #3 Find a group of runners to train with and have a group of runners racing you on the track when you attempt to run a fast time. Good Luck and Have Fun