5:00 mile possible? (Page 2)

The fastest mile (1500m actually) I ever ran was the toughest thing I ever did athleticly. With 3 IM finishes and hundreds of other runs, bike races and triathlons to my credit should qualify that statement. (although walking up stairs the day after IM #2 was close)

The mile is a 100% effort. You should feel like you can't run another step when you hit the finish line, especially if it comes down to a sprint. Go out at the pace you want to run... if you can't hold it slow down until you reach that pace that will bring you to the finish line and no further.

edit- I probably should have read the whole thread before posting

Yeah, that's what I meant when I said a mile gets really looooong when you are doing it at max effort.  Last time I tried to do a fast mile it was in training and I just was curious what I could do.  I picked a target time that seemed fast but attainable.  I headed out at about that pace.  After about 1/3 of a mile I thought "Wow, this is really hard!" and after 1/2 mile I said screw this, no way I can do another 1/2 mi at this pace.  The miles just fly by during LSD and tempo runs but at max effort its a completely different story.  Just as a marathoner expects a miler to respect the distance he runs, the miler deserves respect for his event.

I remember training for a fast mile when I was in my early 30's with some friends.  One of us (a guy) was trying to get down to the women's world's record, about 4:10 I think.  We trained on speed work twice a week all summer with lots of 1/4 and 1/2 at around 75 seconds per 1/4.  I remember the fateful day of the time trial at the local track.  I was shooting for 5.  I turned the first lap in 70, the second in 72 or so.  Things were going great.  I was second.  Suddenly on the third lap I hit a patch of air with really low oxygen concentration.  Plus, something, maybe a gorilla,  climbed on my back.  I turned the last two laps in 89 and 90, for a 5:21.  It is still the best mile I've turned since high school.  Last time I tried a fast mile it was around 7:08.   That hurt too.  Nothing feels better than running really, really fast ... for a few seconds.    After that, nothing feels worse.

I feel obligated say something like,  "Don't try this at home."  Speed work is the easiest way to get hurt that I know of.  It is just so easy to push outside the envelop.  Plus, the next day, when you go for your normal 5 miler you drop the usual pace a minute or so per mile.  That's how you wind up hurt.  Let's be careful out there. 

TW

That same gorilla usually grabs ahold of my legs in the 2nd mile of a 5k, or the second half of a 10k.  Luckily I was able to keep him at bay during my 1/2 marathon in March, but he decided to come along for the whole ride during Boston to make up for that ......