The Plano Pacer’s put on a race on the last Saturday of each month at Bob Woodruff Park. Runners of all levels and all ages attend. The courses are well marked and explained before the race and they usually include a few tight turns. Yesterday’s mile course was around the parking lot, past the pavilion, sharp turn onto the path around the lake/pond, then onto the grass for the finish.
I lined up a few people back so that I would not kill myself at the start. This turned out to be a mistake. It’s hard not getting boxed in when the start is so narrow, especially for the mile. This didn’t throw me off much though. I felt good and broke out of the pack after the 1/4 mile mark. Once I turned onto the path around the lake, I knew the race would be over in a flash. At halfway (2:50),I started getting out of breath, but it seemed like nothing compared to running a 5k. Or maybe I just paced myself well and that is what it is supposed to feel like. I felt the lactic acid build up once I made the final turn around the lake. I was hurting but still felt strong. When I heard my husband yell, ‘Finish strong!’ I dug deep, picked it up, and crossed the finish line at 5:44 or 5:45 clock time. I must need to be yelled at…According to my watch, I picked it up to a 4:58/mile pace for the finish. So, under 5:49. A new PR! Right? But wait. Hold up. Let me explain…
I am a little torn. The clock showed 5:44 or 5:45 at the finish. My Garmin watch and Strava showed 5:45 as my new PR for my mile time and my overall pace for the entire time my watch was recording was 5:45/mile, but the chip from my bib posted 5:50 for my time. In no way was the actual time I was racing 5:50, since I stopped my watch at 5:50 when I made it to my kids seconds after I crossed the finish. (Yes, this is me freaking out a little.) Oh well. Normally, I am not this caught up on the exacts, but I was going for a new PB/PR so does it count or not?
After going back and forth and back and forth, I am going with YES! New Mile PR! 5:45 unless proven otherwise. Hard work paying off!
Thanks everyone for your support!
Run for the Blue 5k next Saturday!
I am a Runner. 
Good luck next week!
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Good stuff 👍 I’ve only raced the mile distance once but I found it a real killer, have to really dig in! And I’d say definitely go by the clock at the finish and your watch in that case! Sounds like a bit of chip timing issues 😫
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I may be alone on this one among distance runners, but I enjoyed racing the mile! : )And that’s what I was thinking with the chip timing. At those races we usually don’t use chip timing so an issue seems likely.
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Definitely the 5:45 is the right time and it’s a GREAT time!
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Thanks! I am guessing your safe for now with mile distance!?! Not sure if we ever discussed mile PRs.
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I ran a 5:35 just before I got injured. I can race anything I want now, but it would probably be a 6:35 mile. Getting that last bit of kick and lungs back is going to take some work. I’m ready to race when you are. We just have to pick a race. 🙂
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Congrats on the PR! And you keep looking stronger and stronger in your photos! Are you doing strength training?
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Thanks! I have been doing 1 hr of boxing on Friday (non race weeks) and we do a ton of conditioning in that hour as well. Burpees, push ups, v-ups, squats, etc! This is a lot more than I used to include in my training.
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