Monday, April 24, 2006

The 9-Minute Mile




382. 28:11. 9:04.

That's my line from the Lincoln Tunnel 5K. 382nd place out of 1150. 28 minutes, 11 seconds to completion. 9.07-minute mile.

I made it under 30, so that's something to be proud of, though I think I could have shaved a minute or so off my time had I paced myself better. The tunnel is a long dip, so that the 1st quarter is downhill, the second uphill, then, on the way back, the third quarter is downhill, and the fourth is uphill. Not wanting to run too quickly and crap out before the end, thus having to suffer the shame of walking, I made sure I kept something in reserve so that I could spend it all with an all out sprint at the end. This may be an okay strategy for a flat race or one that ends in a downhill, but saving that energy for an uphill was not te best. It takes that much more kick ot try to accelerate uphill. Had I really flown down the 3rd quarter of the race and dogged it to the finish, I would have improved my time.

On the drive home, my legs were all shaky. I had jelly-leg for the next couple hours, and today am sore as sore can be. So I ran as hard as I could, and of that I am glad. Now I have to plan my next racing adventure. But first on the agenda is Joshua Tree, CA, Thursday through Sunday.

I will post pictures.

3 comments:

Rog said...

Congrats! Good time, especially for a first race. If you're looking to do more, I'd suggest joining NYRR, they've got lots of 5K races, and you can step up to 10Ks later - I'd recommend the 10K Healthy Kidney Race on May 20th. Oh, and I'll be posting about an awesome 3 mile summer biathlon soon.

vacuous said...

Cool, Beckett. I'm happy for you. I also hope you enjoy Joshua Tree. I think you're going during wildflower season, so you could be in for a treat.

La Misma said...

Congratulations on your race, Beckett. I think your namesake also had an athletic streak.

I'm excited for your trip to California, but I hope no U2 will play a part in your holiday. They could really lower the tone.