A couple of months ago I realized that the uphill mile that I run at the base of my neighborhood has a Strava segment called "Dead Runners Mile." About a month ago I ran the 1.07 miles in 9:25, and found that put me in the top 20 for this year. I had a goal. Getting into the top 10 for the year would require me to run the segment in about 9 minutes. So, first, my goal was to crack the top 10; next my goal is to break 9 minutes. I wasn't really planning to achieve my goal for some time, since I'm primarily focused on ironman training, which has little to do with speed. However, my preparation for Santa Rosa has allowed me to put in some intensity and speed. Moreover, uphill speed training has myriad benefits that will probably allow me to continue to work on this hill in the upcoming months. If not, then certainly after Kona.
Today was my last opportunity before Santa Rosa to go up the hill as hard as I could. I warmed up for 2 miles and then attacked the hill. My approach has been not to overdo it on the bottom portion of the climb, which undulates. In fact, there's about 75 feet of climbing in the first half mile, but another 150 feet of climbing in the second half, with the bulk of it coming near the end. I "set" my breathing at every third step, which corresponds to what we call Tempo effort, though I'm certainly pushing a bit above that. I've gotten used to certain portions of the climb and pretty much try to maintain a consistent effort for the first 6 minutes. After that, I alternate breathing every 2nd step with taking my foot slightly off the pedal and going back to my every 3rd step breathing, doing this about every 30 seconds. According to my watch, I hit the mile mark in 8:24, the fastest I've done that portion. The "Dead Runners Mile" is actually about 1.07 miles and I don't really have it fully marked off, so I just keep running hard until I can't anymore. Strava will be the umpire and tell me what I did.
I get home and look at Strava, and there it is! 9:08. Eighth fastest in 2019. Granted, over the course of several years, I'm about 82nd overall, so I choose to look at this year. I send a screenshot to my coach, who notices that 8:57 is 6th on the list, so now I have a new goal! Breaking 9 minutes will put me at 69th all time. 50th is 8:41. I'm not sure if that's within my reach. I'm happy, though, to know that this year 78 people have tackled "Dead Runners Mile," and I have the 8th fastest time. Not too bad, but more importantly, I continue to set my goals!
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