Sunday morning, I headed to the Bethel Campus and their indoor track. Charities Challenge was hosting another track meet. (I had done 2 of them 2 years ago, where I tried my hand at the mile each time.)
I got there early JUST as people were starting to show up:
My old coach must have gotten to me - I felt the need to warm-up. A lot. ;) I did over a mile in my “regular” running shoes, and then I changed into my racing flats:
I warmed-up over another half mile in my flats. I hadn’t put on my flats since Liberty Oly Tri back in June! (I wore my old track spikes for the 2 indoor meets 2 years ago, but they beat up my feet, so I played it smart and brought out my racing flats for this one.)
I had talked over my "race plan" with
Pharmie a few days before the race.
I told her I was hoping for 1:13 / 400 so that even if some were longer (like 1:13.8 [or whatever]), I could still get a PR. My PR from 2 years ago is 4:54.6. The morning of the race, I jotted down what P.E.R.F.E.C.T. race splits would look like. Here they are:
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uIOXa5F2kHVPQBZQguf1hWJ1ngibzPUuKvh-zv5b53ldkQvYaaml7rzqcvCvrp6HOpNgoqHDWoabIRUGkk3dHTslFd_QPlsvvbq_cA5Iz6A_TBjA0=s0-d)
First mile (12/08) in the upper left, 2 weeks later (01/09) in the upper right,
HOPEFUL splits from a perfect race at the bottom.
So I had told Pharmie that any PR would be GREAT, but I COULD maybe go a few seconds faster.
It had been 2 years since I last raced an all-out mile; I had NO idea what I could do!The track was filling up with familiar faces from the local running scene:
The first event was the 60 meter dash. No thanks. I just kept warming up and watched a few heats go off:
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4 of these 5 guys went well under 8 seconds!
The second event was the mile! (Yes, it was a true mile - not "just" a 1600. We started back 9 meters from the start/finish line.) The first of 3 heats was the "fast" heat: anyone hoping for 5:15 or faster. I was surrounded by "kids" (high schoolers) and "old guys" (guys in their 50s). I asked who was shooting for around 4:50. A few of us talked about hopeful finishing times.
I lined up in the middle, just off the back shoulder of 2 of the "youngens" shooting for a fast time. I know my place. BEHIND the speedy kids. ;)
"Runners to your marks....." **BANG**We all took off, and we were all single-file by 30 meters in the race. I was in 5th, just behind a guy around my age who was the coach for some of these youngens. I held it there for the first 2 laps, and tried to keep a good pace.
First 400: 1:13. "Good. Right on track." No complaints. Feeling OK, but ready for the hurt to start.
Second 400: 1:13. "NICE! Can I really do this?!?" This is where it really started to hurt. I told myself to go HARD for the third 400. Back in my track days (first 2 years of HS) when I ran the 800, it was always the third 200 that KILLED me, and the third 400 in the mile feels the same way. "Keep it strong, Steve!"
Also, I was debating passing the coach in front of me. I would sometimes swing wide around a corner, but I could never muster enough of a kick to pass. Around lap 5, I swung wide again, and he did too - we were both coming up QUICK on 3rd place. We went 3-wide, and coach and I passed the kid. We were now third and fourth. But place really didn't matter here; I was just running for time.
Third 400: 1:14. "Only gave up 1 second! I THINK I have this PR! SUCK IT UP AND GO!" Not to sound stupid, but this is where it comes down to guts. I have plenty of endurance training in me, so I knew I just needed to "hold on to the hurt." Near the start of the last lap, coach and I made a move on 2nd place. I heard my name over the PA system - it was Gary saying "...and there's Steve Stenzel moving up in his last lap!!....." Coach and I moved into 2nd and 3rd.
We hit the homestretch, and I was just going as hard as I could. I heard someone coming up behind me and breathing down my neck - I didn't care how I placed, so I COULD give up my position, but I used the guy behind me to push for better time. I hit the finish pooped, and still in 3rd.
Fourth 400: 1:11. "Shoot. Just a LITTLE too much left for that final kick - could have gone a bit harder in the 3rd 400."
My watch read 4:53.XX. I walked up to the timing table to get my official time knowing that I could be a little off. Josh (the timer) showed me a list of names:
SWEET! 4:53.01!! Officially a PR by 1.59 seconds!
Results:
1 mile: 4:53.01
3rd of 29 overall
2nd of 5 in the 19-34 "open" age groupUhhh, look at that screen grab of the results above. That was one of the OLD GUYS chasing me down! He was just 26 hundredths of a second behind me! There were 3 of us (2nd-4th) within 0.71 seconds.
Josh has a great new timing system that has a camera set up across the finish line. It's "super official," and it allows him to drag a line up to the body of all of the finishers on his computer, and it will instantly record their exact times down to the hundredth of a second. Here's a photo from when I was lurking over his shoulder and watching people finish:
I bring this up because I actually found out that he puts the photos online on his
timing website! Here's the photo from my heat:
And here's a crop in on me finishing while hitting my watch:
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_ukSEIXcqoHClPK-8-BjEQcdHh-tQ2qHINXQRIjR-jkesuOnkse9vUPIm6sFikuuDAgiHawNBLD-v3aZpqa77SQSTYHmPNO_J_vnkEyKwjykNfPwMYGZI4a=s0-d)
Awkward. Awesome.
It's sweet to have such official timing (with the sensor on the starting gun and the photo finish) on a cheap $19 track meet. One of the many reasons I like
Charities Challenge races! (There are 3 more indoor track meets this winter if you're interested.)
Here are a few more photos I took throughout the meet:
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sVqhtjb6Hc0d_u9AUKdv1ckSqQsmhKa20jghB0NBca4s1PtCFNMdfD1Rp5TMvOAtfbYnpff7CozeQuhyq0Hl882DEjHrGZZ2J76hghRwbIJ4YwZBg=s0-d)
Another wave of the mile starting
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_v70Xcwn73iKq6srNsCqSyLnRepU3NE2TCptJRtiad0dLfMaOEazb51hMQv-413Xz_cX9Py1Z3psyAUhx4qglmNgV7WsI4wQbHtfXdw7InSjhdg5gg=s0-d)
Mile in progress (the girl to the left is about to break 6)
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_v5QSv49pNIe1DY9RcyYBgKQAUkF5lRkKH1x8wrpanQIJGK2Z_rWoLZ2wI2cO-velKE9kv3M6D6VF9b4w62-wDRHXtr9G7qMiyqgsJ39Td-d0s7FRA=s0-d)
2 guys about to finish the 200 in just over 24 seconds
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vfSFDaj-IBoBenhMu7CqFrUbMbweNEdCNmEpDasGqcan7k6f4-ZPlnRK0JnGmv_7EQq0G-ohF5GUI6cwn9wKClL1SP39PnXNt_w9BZBGYVktCRgA=s0-d)
Lined up in the alleys to start the 800
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tyGti2R8X-Bk2A8DShjkeLk9VwkXWtyyjNBGwjMvSThnyZAk4Mtkr3uLxgviRZ7eor7trMoUEvig5lQUG2Y-Hxy4P8iqqcluxCDuHZyr3W00gKfjk=s0-d)
Jeanne holding up lap numbers in the 800
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_s5Ti1NTeb-AplaaCZEyLqjtqvly7bDlLle8D47noy0XKYmGhrBSos4oTXp4RNHzijYP_V-Ju05jDkDQ61xESwvJM2J3rbOF9rXkWKZ4uIceQ6-jA=s0-d)
Another heat of the 800
(with the "old guy" who nearly beat me in the mile to the far left)
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tCa-orrvUloA_7PlXboJH9yLuai5rIAAw3G6V1TL1Ku8JEAYrVfsKzqqWDtgwxhP2QP3SI1EFqYBmO5rnTgAq2FFceZ9zhjcQJzefIAeUs5CDeq0I=s0-d)
Yet another 800 heat
I watched the first few heats of the final race (the 400) go off, and then I headed home. The winner finished in 53 seconds! But this meet is for everyone - last place in the 400 finished in over 2 minutes. And in the mile, the times ranged from 4:45 to 9:15.
Anyway, that's all for now. I'm THINKING about 1 more indoor meet this winter. The next
Charities Challenge meet is Jan 2nd, but I might not be able to make it (unsure about that yet). There's also the Meet of the Miles (which is an
MDRA race) on January 10th. A few friends have expressed interest in doing a race with me, so we'll see what happens in the next few weeks!
Back with some photos from Gary (from Charities Challenge) when I see them! Happy winter!
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