July 2021: Update #1 on my 5 Minute Mile Goal

This is the 1st monthly update on my goal to run a 5 minute mile (see post here). I’ll keep track of my training and progress here.

Training

This month, I’ve been training pretty consistently. It’s been really hot and humid. I try to get out in the mornings when I can, but sometimes I run in the middle of the day to try to get used to the heat.

I got a pretty bad blister on my right pinky toe, so I had to cut back for about a week. I averaged about 25 miles per week this month. I think I only got one decent long run in (13.1 miles). In addition to the easy runs, I’m trying to incorporate more speedwork into my training to help improve my mile time.

Progress

I think losing some weight will help me get faster. Last month, my weight was usually in the 168-175lb range. This month, I’m in the 165-172lb range, meaning I lost about 2-3 lbs.

I ran the Potomac River Running Birthday Bash 5k this month. It was probably one of my worst 5ks, mainly because I wasn’t able to run much in the week before because of a bad blister. I started off really slow on purpose, hoping to run a negative split. I did get the negative split, but I started off way too slow. It was also warm and humid that morning, so that didn’t help.

I did a mile time trial this morning. I did it on the track and ran a 6:23.59. My Garmin says my 1 mile split was around a 6:11, but since I did it on the track, I’m going to go by when I hit the actual line on the track. It felt pretty good and my pace was relatively consistent. I think I hit my first 400m around 1:34, so a 6:23 for 1609m means I slowed down very little over the course of the mile.

Things to work on

I realized the most important thing to continually improve is to be consistent. I’m going to try to continue to run around 5 times per week.

I’ve also been trying to eat a little better and fuel up for runs. Before, I would run fasted in the morning because I wasn’t hungry. I’m actively trying to fuel before runs now and eat after runs to enhance recovery. It’s hard because I’m usually not hungry, but I know I need to train my body this way to perform better.

I’ve also been trying to do more strength training like planks, squats, pushups, pullups, and core workouts at home. It would be nice if I had some weights at home, but I’m just doing body weight exercises for now.

I need to get back to doing a weekly long run, even if it’s only 7 or 8 miles. It’s been really tough as the mornings are humid and the temps get up to the 90s around midday.

Tracking progress by VDOT
Here’s a VDOT table, another way to track running fitness.
As of the end of July 2021, I’m at a VDOT of around 45. I’ll need to get up to a VDOT of 60. I’ve read that, with consistent training, one can expect to increase VDOT by 1 roughly about every 6 weeks. According to this calculation, it will take a minimum of 17×6 weeks, or 102 weeks. That’s about 2 years at a minimum.

Photo credit: Pixabay

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