This isn’t my story it’s a friends story, but I was there for it and it’s 100 percent real. This was in spring when the season was cancelled and everybody had to TT if they wanted a result. Man says he’s in around 5 flat shape for the mile, wants to do an 800m time trial to get into peak racing shape. He doesn’t want to waste all his racing energy into an off distance time trial so he doesn’t wear spikes, he has no competition, and just does it on some random Tuesday at 7pm at the track, with only me there to time him. Keep in mind he’s been confidently sharing his thoughts about his fitness whenever it’s brought up, and it’s well known among the team that he thinks he’s around 5:00 for a mile and wants to go sub 5. First lap of his 800 TT he runs 77 seconds, no joke. I almost considered turning the timer off and saying I accidentally messed it up. Next lap he runs a 76, absolutely falling apart along the homestretch for a final time of 2:33. Next week he gets into a “race” with teammates and some kids from other schools, and he runs 5:08 for a mile. Me personally, last spring, by all accounts I should have ran in the 4:30’s and instead only mustered a 4:53 in my one-time, spiked up, all-out TT. My 800, which was done in my first and only real race of the season was 2 flat. Other people I know can time trial to their exact fitness, but some of us, like my friend and I (and you) can’t get within 20 seconds per mile. Don’t worry about the result if your training has been good.