Outside: 'How Our Totally Average Runner Broke the Sub-Five Minute Mile'

After reading this thread, I was curious to see what my mile time would be. Did 5:53 at the track this morning. Not sure how much better I could have done, but was pleasantly surprised with it. Full disclosure is that I have been doing 400 yard sprints once a week for about the past month so it is not like I woke up and just pulled this out of nowhere. My aggregate mile from my last 4x400 was 5:03 so I think my time for a full mile should get better quickly once I work on the pacing a little more.

 

Run 85s quarters. You're in shape to run 5:40 right now. (1:25, 2:50, 4:15, 5:40)

 

Curious - how old are you?

 

Just hit 40...part of the reason I started running seriously again.

 

We're the same age. Same motivation, too. (I started upping the effort last summer in anticipation of 40.)

 

Kids these days.

 

Our 5k time is in pace of each other as well. I did 19:21 in May.

 

No more treadmill!

 

Something happened to the belt on my treadmill and it's literally too loud to use unless I'm the only one in the house. Which rarely happens. Where are you running? Local track? Gym with track?

 

I can step out my door and be on the town's bike/running trail through the main town park in less than a half-mile. It's a six-mile loop, the way I run it, out and back.

 

Liked reading everyone's war stories. Ran 5:40 as a freshman in high school, and 11:48 for the two mile. Got down to sub-8s last summer, but I refuse to run in the winter, so I'm just picking it back up again. Really haven't timed myself, but I'm guessing I'm still sub-9s right now. Always had Achilles issues, so that means much more stretching than ever before.

I'm turning 40 in a few months, and this story is pretty motivational. I've never really been all too concerned about my age, but the idea of 40 has been hitting me lately. I really want to do something like this, setting a realistic goal, working toward it and achieving it.

 

Ran the 1/2-mile in 2:44 this morning, or a 5:27 mile pace, according to my app. Inching my way there one workout at a time.