I completed my third 1 mile race of the season today finishing with a time of 5:35.

The Firecracker Mile is in its 30th year and precedes the City of Clawson's 4th of July Parade.  It is run in a straight shot, right down the middle of the street with parade onlookers lining the route on either side.

This event offers prize money for the top three finishers of each gender, as well a $1,000.00 bonus to the first man to cross the finish in sub-4:00, or first woman to do so in sub-4:30.

During bib pick up, I asked a fellow runner had anyone ever run a sub-4:00 there.  He said that three Kenyans came over from Minnesota a few years ago, and all three went sub-4:00!  I inquired of his chances of breaking the hallowed barrier and he said his dreams of a sub-4:00 were long gone, and he was actually content with that.  "I gave it everything I had" he said, "I am just not a sub-4:00 miler".

His all time PB was 4:20.  So close but yet, so damn far.  I gave him a play (a handshake) and told him he had my respect.  We went our separate ways and I never saw him again.

This event is unique in that its finishers medals go to the first 50 runners who cross the finish-line, period, that's it.  Checking the results from last year, medal number 50 went to a 5:59 finisher.

It has been nearly two months since my last 1 mile event, but now heading into my fourth full month of racing, and seven months of training with Daniels, my early season goal of a sub-6:00 was no longer a matter of if I could, but of how deep into five minutes I could get.

I decided earlier this week that I would not program my Garmin to record my quarter mile splits as was the case with my previous two 1 mile events.  I have come to view the five second countdown to each split as a distraction, that does more harm mentally than good.

With part time group contributors Cecil and Gville in mind, I decided pre-race that I was not going to look at my Garmin, at all.  So imagine the irony when the race director announced that the pace car would have a timer on the back of it, and they would be calling out quarter mile splits on the course, doh!

Luckily for me, I was nowhere near the pace car during the race.

I lined up right at the start line and at 9:00 am sharp, we were off!  A group of about 20 runners blasted off like wild horses running from Cowboys, I settled in a bit behind them and concentrated on feeling my pace.  My only goal at that point was to run as fast as I could, for 1 mile.

I am not sure where I was on the course, but the distress hit me almost immediately.  My task for the duration therefore was to focus on my pace, not the pain, and that is what I did.

The first time I came across someone yelling out splits I heard 2:40, which is a time that made no sense to me as I usually run my quarter miles in the 1:27 to 1:24 range.  I was a bit miffed but kept chugging along, and the next split I heard was 4:05.  Now I was thoroughly confused and was like, "What in the hell is going on?!".  I wanted so badly to look at my Garmin just to see where I was at but I resisted the strong temptation.  I thought there was no way in hell I was running an 8:16 mile, but I just didn't know because I refused to look at my watch, arrrggghhh!

Just a tad bit later however, the lead pack started shifting to the left side of the street and I wondered if we were approaching the finish.  I looked up ahead for the first time during the race and sure as shit, I could see the finish!  Apparently, I either missed the first quarter mile split call out, or there was none.

In either case, I kicked that races ass but did not know it until the end, ha!  The deets:

The overall winner came in at 4:06, the women's winner in 5:23.

The top 3 went sub-4:32, the top 12 went sub-5:00.

Medal number 50 went to a runner with a time of 6:07.

There were 230 finishers, I placed 31st.

It is funny, and ironic that you just never know where good information may come from.  I was talking 1 mile race strategy with someone earlier this week who had this to offer;

"...you have to convince yourself to just hang on, but self-preservation keeps telling you to STOP."

I took that to heart and my mantra all morning and even during the race was to resist the urge to self preserve.

That little nugget didn't come from a sub-4:00 miler, a sub-5:00 miler, or even a sub-6:00 miler.  Nope, it came from my girl O to the Ski, and proves that you do not have to be the fastest nut in the bunch to spit game, you just have to be a nut.

Word.

Damn, you are FAST! Great run, LRB, and great RR as well. Man, I felt like I was one of the spectators cheering for you. Be sure to treat yourself to a good beer.

We need some rules on here...Can your race report take longer to read than the event actually takes to complete?  I guess as long as it's well written and entertaining, I'm cool with...so you pass.  That sounds like a really fun event.  I love that they capped the medals.  I know some people will be rubbed wrongly by that, but it's okay to be a little competitive every once in a while.  Those mid-race splits would have confused me too.  I'm always amazed by the mental math people pull off in race, as I'm convinced my own IQ drops about 100 points while I'm racing.

Great job hanging on and running such a strong time.  Any idea what the end goal is for you with the mile?  Sub 5 maybe?

Oh, and do horses run faster running from cowboys, or if they're being ridden and prodded by cowboys?

Congrats on the 5:35!  Super speedy!

I was the popsicle-stick hander-outer at our local track meet last night (any race that doesn't have people finishing in their starting lanes gets the popsicle sticks), and it was interesting to watch people's faces as the splits were called out.  There was a nice clump of 8 or so running sub-6, and some were just overjoyed with their pace, while others miserable.  I felt bad for one guy, he called before the race that this was going to be his sub-5.  Unfortunately for him, he ran his first 400 at 4:30ish pace, and blew up big time.  He finished 3rd and was miserable.  Meanwhile a few of the others were on cloud nine!  It was fun to watch them grin every time the splits were called.

Me?  I don't think I'd be grinning at any point of a mile race!  There's one more left for this season, but I don't think I'll make it.  Maybe next year?

Awesome, awesome performance. I went to the wrong 4th of July parade today for sure, all I got was shriners in little cars. And from now on I am taking all my race advice from Oski. For the full service package, she cooks you a delicious pasta dinner the night before the race.

Super awesome!  Congrats!!

5:35. Wow. You're a rockstar. Great job.

Congrats on a great race.  That's a pretty cool looking medal.

I like the idea of capping the medals, even as someone who wouldn't ever get one!

I also like the idea of running in a line.  A track may let you see the competition and let you know exactly where you are, but there's something cool about running to "over there".

As always, I have absolutely no clue what a 5:35 means but it sure sounds impressive.