My legs were a little tired after yesterday’s 5k, but I still figured I’d have a low 5:00 minute mile in me. I even had a secret thought of breaking 5 minutes for the first time ever. I guess it was a combination of the weather and Saturday’s fast 5k that brought me down a peg or two.

I “warmed up” for a couple of miles (if you can call running in torrential rain and a 20+mph north wind warming up) to get familiar with the course, and headed back to the school to change into some dry race gear and the Newton Racers. The “boys” race was set to start 30 minutes after the girls mile, but I think they kicked it off a little early so the volunteers and spectators wouldn’t be subjected to the rain for any longer than was absolutely necessary.

My warm up had consisted of an easy mile and then a mile made up of faster strides, building to 20m sprints. I wasn’t “feeling it” 100%, but figured I’d go out hard and see what happened. Most of the runners were kids under 18, but there were a few “older chaps” in the 18-97 age group – me included of course.

The start was the usual stampede to the first left turn – lots of bodies and legs all vying for a good position and lots of fired up under-10′s all forgetting how long a mile race actually is. Ignorance is bliss sometimes…

I quickly found myself in 3rd spot, about 10 strides behind a couple of lads I guessed to be about 15 years old. They looked to be running easy, nice and relaxed with a good leg turnover. I on the other hand had good cadence but couldn’t make myself run any quicker. The rain was lashing down and I was also conscious of not slipping on the slick surface.

After a couple of waterlogged left turns, I glanced down at my Garmin and noticed my 5:15 per mile pace was nowhere near what I’d hoped for. The two lads had increased their lead on me and were battling it out nicely ahead. I was clear in 3rd with no-one to really race against, so I eased off a little and “cruised” home. My official finish time was 5:21, although I’d actually stopped my Garmin at 5:17 a couple of seconds after I’d crossed the line. Maybe the finish line volunteers didn’t click fast enough, but in the grand scheme of things it didn’t really matter. There will be plenty of opportunities for a faster mile once the summer comes.

We hung around for the awards and enjoyed watching the youngsters collect their medals and enjoy their moments of glory. I’m sure they’ll be talking about the race in the rain for several days when they get back to school tomorrow…

Well, I did it. In my last race as a 41-year old, I finally set a new personal record (PR) for the mile. I guess the McMillan Marathon Training Plan is working pretty well….

As for the race, I sat in the pack for a couple of laps, trying to save something for the final half mile. With two laps to go I glanced over at the clock and was pleased to read 2:31. The third lap is always the toughest, but I hung on as best I could and unleashed a kick with about 450m to go – maybe a bit early, but the cheering crowd was spurring me on.

With 100m to go, I sprinted with everything I had and crossed the line as the clock ticked past 5:03….

So, first and last PR as a 41-year old and hopefully things are looking good for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in a couple of months and the Richmond Marathon in November.

Just for the record I was 8th overall male and 1st in the master’s division.

Also, my wife Ally had a great race – first place in her age group with a 7:45 mile and she was also a member of the second place random relay team. See? Consistent training does pay off….Well done!

PS I’m really going to enjoy my celebratory beer tonight – a bottle of 14% Samichlaus which I’ve been saving in my refrigerator since March 2007 for an occasion just like this…

In last year’s race I ran a surprisingly quick 5:06 for the 1760 yard race, but this year after several disappointing track workouts, I didn’t expect much more than a 5:20.

After an easy 2 mile warm up, it was soon time to assemble on the start line and wait for the gun. I seeded myself in the second row of a couple of dozen runners and reminded myself that the pain would be over in less than 6 minutes!

I’m not that experienced at running short, fast races, so I just tucked in behind the main pack and tried to stay as relaxed and focussed as possible. For the first 200 meters everyone jostled for position. I ran wide in lane 2 and 3 to avoid the tangle of legs that could easily ruin a race.

At the halfway mark I was probably in 11th or 12th place, still feeling ok despite a fast 2:35 opening couple of laps. I surged and catch 2 people ahead and then maintain the quicker cadence going into the final lap. Racing on a track usually brings out the competitive side in everyone. With less than 300 meters to go I battled with friend and rival Tommy Neeson and exchanged places with him a couple of times. He was too strong on the day as he kicked for him and left me trailing by about a second in 5 minutes 9 seconds.

All in all, it was a pleasing race though. I’m happy with my time and how I was able to maintain a quick pace. I finished 8th overall and was the first master (over 40 runner), so that was an added bonus too. Time to look ahead to tomorrow’s 20 mile run which will end my 6th week of Marine Corps Marathon training….

Well here we are on Week 5 of the plan, which means there’s only 12 weeks to go until the Marine Corps Marathon. Key Run #1 called for 10-20 minutes of easy running, then 3 x 1600 meters with a 1 minute recovery interval and 10 minutes of easy running for a cool down. My goal pace for the 1600m is 5:33 and going in to the workout I knew it was going to be tough to even get close to that time.

Temperature on my car thermometer was 98&degF as I drove to the local track after work. Couple with extremely high humidity, word on the street was the Heat Index had hit somewhere between 100 and 105°F! The other nagging doubt I had was the fatigue I still felt in my legs after Sunday’s 20 mile run. All day long at work they felt heavy and non-responsive. Anyway, no point moaning about it. I was at the track and ready to go.

2 miles of easy running for a warm up (warm up being the expression!) was tough. I was already drenched and sweating profusely. Back at the track I stretched and did some strides to get my legs ready for the onslaught of the mile repeats. I half thought of calling the workout off and either postponing until Wednesday or running at home on the treadmill. Foolishly, perhaps, I chose to stay at the track.

Mainly because of the heat I chose not to look at my splits and decided to watch my heart rate instead. I figured today was not the day to take any chance in the heat. As I set off for the first 1600m it felt like I was running towards a furnace. Luckily there was a slight breeze on the back straight which was a welcome 20 second break from the furnace. Long story short I finished the 4 laps of the track in just under 6:00 minutes. I drank some water, walked 50m and then jogged the rest of the lap to start all over again.

My heart rate had recovered to 130 beats per minute, so I felt I was ok to go again. The feeling didn’t last long though and by the end of the first lap I was struggling with fatigue and battling the hot conditions. I still managed to run a fraction under 6:00 minutes for the 1600m, but it was a real struggle. I drank more water, walked 100m this time and then jogged to the start line for my third and final repeat.

I set off around the first bend, but knew I was fighting a losing battle. After just 200m of the third 1600m I gave up and decided to jog for 10 to 20 minutes instead. The heat was just too intense and I didn’t want to risk anything. To be honest it was all I could do to run 8:00 minute mile pace and I knew I’d made the right decision.

Hopefully the weather will be cooler on Thursday for Key Workout #2 and I’ll be recovered enough to run well.

As a side note, I uploaded my Garmin GPS track to MotionBased later in the evening as I always do. I was really surprised to see even though I’d run 4 laps of the track in about 6:00 minutes, my actual mile splits were much faster (5:35 and 5:38). Maybe the workout wasn’t a total disaster after all!

Last weekend Alan Webb ran 3:46.91 to set a new American Record in the mile, beating Steve Scott’s 25 year old record of 3:47.69 and also becoming the 8th fastest ever at 1 mile.

Webb, a graduate of South Lakes High School in Reston, Virginia, broke the record at a low-key meet in Brasschaat, Belgium and is now focusing on next month’s world championships in Osaka, Japan.

Video courtesy of Flotrack.com and YouTube.com