Sub-5 Minute Mile Every Day for a Month

Fast road mile this sunday 12/19, but it's in san francisco - all downhill, it's good for about 15-20 seconds faster than flat!

make the trip, be a hero, get that PR!

http://www.peopleevents.org/Christmas_Classic_2010.html

Joe Mac, great post, it was nice to see my name in your blog. Not going to lie...i'm still skeptical about you running a mile on the road and hitting the time. But I'm glad I could help...or whatever I did there.

I would like to say, regardless of whether you make the mile time or not, your other training is impressive and you're definitely a runner I respect. I may take you up on that pint sometime.

another 5:52 today, felt much easier than yesterday. Warm-up, cool down.

otherwise a cross-training/strength training day.

If you or anyone is ever in the New York Metropolitan Area:

An Beal Bocht is the place to go--on W238th street and Waldo Avenue.

UNCDan wrote:

Joe Mac, great post, it was nice to see my name in your blog. Not going to lie...i'm still skeptical about you running a mile on the road and hitting the time. But I'm glad I could help...or whatever I did there.

I would like to say, regardless of whether you make the mile time or not, your other training is impressive and you're definitely a runner I respect. I may take you up on that pint sometime.

I really don't understand how you are skeptical of the accuracy of a garmin? I understand that it might be not 100% accurate, but is anything? I don't know if you're referring just to the time that he ran 4:59, if so you're right, it was close, but good enough for me. Or the 4:42 that he ran yesterday, I would love an argument for that one. Or maybe is it that you see running sub-5 on the road as such a daunting task, which it really is not.

4.43.91

Holy S**T

I'm going overseas between xmas and new years - I think I might try this - run 2 or 3 miles easy and then hammer a 5:30 mile each day.

I'll be in places non-conducive to long runs, so short fast stuff might be just right. Maybe it will keep my fitness level higher than usual on vacation.

I'm going to predict the time of today's mile. It will be 4:48.32. Go Joe Mac.

4:46.84

bennu wrote:

I really don't understand how you are skeptical of the accuracy of a garmin? I understand that it might be not 100% accurate, but is anything? I don't know if you're referring just to the time that he ran 4:59, if so you're right, it was close, but good enough for me. Or the 4:42 that he ran yesterday, I would love an argument for that one. Or maybe is it that you see running sub-5 on the road as such a daunting task, which it really is not.

That 4:42 is legitimate, I have no doubt. I just have some experience with Garmins and where I live (heavily wooded area, but still suburban) it will lose signal with some frequency. I assumed he was running these on a track, in which case a 4:59 is without a doubt below 5 minutes for the mile. On the roads, it's just tougher to say for sure.

Ok, next month I will run 1609 meters at the track each day and we can compare times. My guess is the track will be way easier because every mile I have done has been rolling.

I am heading out for a 10 miler now!

Joe,

Please don't feel attacked this is just advice from one man to another. I would suggest eliminating the foul language in both your writing and everyday life. Grown men shouldn't curse. Foul language is a learned bad habit that you can change. You are embarrassing yourself by speaking and writing this way.

This has been a great blog to follow good job. I enjoy your writing style and you sound like beast of a runner. Keep charging!!

I second the post about eliminating the foul language. Never really understood why a grown man would need to talk like that, but sadly bing, you and I are in the minority on this one. Still an enjoyable log to read and impressive what Joe is doing.

4.45.91

Sub 4:50 wrote:

4:46.84

You were pretty close.

Bing and Astro:

Very, very good point and I have often wondered that myself. In actuality last month (November) I did make a conscious effort to clean up my postings. If you click through November links on the blog there are very well written accounts and stories of my experiences of very high mileage days with very little cussing.

I generally write stream of consciousness especially when I am writing about how I am feeling about running and things like emotion. I am not saying it is a good excuse, but as I have been documenting this mile I have just been writing. No thought, just what exactly happened and what was going through my mind at the time. Unfortunately I am fluent in cussing ie. in my head when something happens I cuss, a lot, but those are not the words that come out of my mouth at the time, I am just thinking them. That is not to say I don't cuss, because I do, but I'm not flailing around in fits of rage all the time as my writing may often times depicts. I am just writing my exact thoughts to authenticate the experience. I am writing this like an authentic ethnography, not a planned novel or non fictional narrative.

I am just trying to explain myself, again, not that it is an excuse. Thank you for following and I appreciate the support!