Okay, I'll come out and say it; I hate the running the mile. I've never had the best endurance, and the mile run as always seemed like a "test" developed specifically by God to make fun of me. Especially around a track, it just seems like the most monotonous way to test my cardiovascular and muscular fitness.

But today...I killed it. Relatively speaking, of course.

For the first time in my life, I actually ran through a whole mile. Yes, sad, I know; as a basketball player, I should be able to do that relatively easily. But like I said, I've never had the best endurance; I'm more of those physically gifted players that is really strong and fast for my size, but I tire easily.

My time was 6:38...and to be honest, I'm pretty damn proud of it. It's not not particularly great, I know, but out of a group of about 40 people, I was among the first ten to finish. The best three times were between a 5:30-5:40 for those of you who are curious. I'm 6'4", but having played center all of my basketball career (and now having to transition to small forward/SHOOTING GUARD WTF for varsity basketball), I've never really had to be the first up and down the floor every time, you know? Furthermore, this is much better than my time from last year, which was somewhere in the mid-to-low sevens. I can't remember what it was exactly but I know I've NEVER run a mile in less than seven minutes...

The only thing I really didn't like was how mentally taxing it was, lmao. I mean...I was ready to start walking after two laps, but something inside me said "C'mon me. You can't walk. At least keep on jogging." So I did. Not to mention, I'd learned about static and kinetic friction from my physics class, and I knew that slowing down to the point of walking then starting to run again would ultimately be harder than just running the whole way through. This thought process was especially helpful on the last lap when my lower back was aching, lol. But I've felt pretty good about myself all day now...I really can't help but pat myself on the back (mentally, of course).

Then I remembered something.

I have to run a mile and a half tomorrow.

:(

Man, that's actually a good time where I live. Most of the kids in my age can't even get to 7 minutes (I can get to 6:58, but that's my best ever). I have to say Gratz man. Just gratz, and keep pushing yourself. Good job applying science and using it to show yourself it would be better to straight up run and keep yourself going.

Congrats, 6.38 is a very respectable time. It sounds like you had fun in a sadistic way too which is always great to hear. I love every second I spend running and people always tell me I'm insane because of it so it's nice to hear from likeminded people heh. Good luck in the 1.5 mile - it's all about mental toughness. Don't stop no matter what. Try to get a solid start too...a lot of people view the 1.5 mile as long distance and try to start off slowly but that's a schoolboy error. Start off steadily (70%ish?) and settle into a rhythm.

Try to pace yourself through it. The big trick to running the mile is breathing. If you keep a decent speed and make sure to breathe just right ( not too little or too much ), it's not that difficult. Adjusting posture is a big help, too. It's not exactly aerodynamic, but running with your torso upright allows you to breathe. I usually lean into my dashes for hills or short runs. If you lean forwards, you'll have a difficult time breathing.

Wow, congratulations on your time. I'm sure a lot of people on Smogon are jealous (or at least they should be!). While you were running that mile, you discovered the most important thing about running (in my opinion at least). That is never letting your mind quit. Once your mind starts quitting, then your body follows suit, which means you start walking. Saying something like "One more lap, then I'll see how I feel." is always better than "Ugh, I don't think I can take much more of this."

Whenever I run with my soccer team, a group of five of us guys are always together (in the front mind you!), and we never let each other lose the pace. If the leader is going too slow, the rest of us speed up and bring him with us. If the leader is going to fast then we slow it down as a group to get to the correct pace for whatever distance we're running. Whenever you run longer distances, find a person or two who you feel run at about your pace and run with them (note: if you're shy or don't want to find a partner or whatever, just follow behind the person you think you compare to. Let them set your pace without them knowing heh.)

@Lee: It's rather a coincidence that your PB is what it is, as that is my school record, which I hope to break sometime within the next two track seasons! My PB is 45 seconds slower at the moment, but I know I can get that lower. ( Didn't list actual times for those people who don't want to press 'Show' =P ) And awesome 5 mile time! On my best 3 mile, I'm about 30 seconds/mile behind that. Thanks for giving me some goals to try and beat!

Personally, I think anyone who runs the mile in less than 6:30 is an absolute beast... I honestly don't ever see myself running a mile in 6:38 ever again.

Anyways, I ran the 1.5 mile today, and it went pretty badly....on the last part of it, I crumbled. The 1.5 mile is two laps around my school, and every says it's easier, but I disagree wholeheartedly. I'd rather run four laps around a track...I was doing pretty decent, actually, I completed the first lap (3/4 mile) in 4:40. All the hills and dips eventually fatigued me, and I saw some people ahead of me walking, so I decided to walk, too. I think I walked for like thirty seconds, I was soo tired...Lee, the schoolboy error you mentioned is exactly what I did. I started off way too slowly. I guess I thought I could just make up for that with a burst of energy at the end, but I've learned my lesson now.

I just dislike running with such intensity, I guess...but even so, I feel bad for giving up. At least I finished it up with a relatively quick jog after my walking break...*sigh* Is it strange that my back hurts after running for a long time? I think that contributed most to my wanting to stop.

Blackhawk, I actually did that for the mile...on the last part of it, I noticed I was behind my fellow classmate who is 6'. I figured that I'd at least try to stay behind him for the rest of the way, and I think that really helped me with getting my mile time.

Also, Lee, thanks for making me feel bad. Thanks a lot.

You can't blame me - I used hide tags!

I'm not sure why you experience back pain when you run but it could be because you are like freakishly tall - tall people are very vulnerable to back pain when they exercise because their spines are longer.

random google search - http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.o...ract/32/10/911

My money's on that.

And yeah, don't worry about how that 1.5 mile went! As soon as you said that you'd learned a lesson and that you felt bad about it it become pretty apparent to me that you're gonna smash it next time. I'd much rather do poorly and learn from a race than do really well but gain nothing.

is one mile 1.6 km if so i run 2 to 2.5 km in about 7 mins and 40 secs not sure what the exact metres is in my school what we had to run ill find out

1 mile is 1.6 km, yes. I assume you mean the 1.5 mile run (2.4km). 7.40 is a very good time - almost as good as me in fact. Good job!

yeah i did cross country running made it to zone came 3rd in that out of my district then i made area which is even more top runners i came 46th out of 120 people that was a 3 km run dont know my time in that