The Timed Mile

     So I realize running a timed mile is not going to help my marathon time at all, but about every 2 months my running club gets together to see how fast we can run.   We don't really train for the mile so it is sort of interesting to see how much everyone improves.  Enough about the rest of the running club, I'm here to write about me.  Lets just say I kicked ass. 
     My first timed mile I ran in 6:40 and that was my first day of going to run club practices.  I had little speed work leading up that point so I was excited and felt great about my time.  After two months of speed work outs I knew I could break 6 minutes in the mile.  So I showed up early and ran the course forwards and backwards as a warm up and to refresh my memory on the turns.  I was so early that I had to run another half mile 20 minutes later just to stay warmed up.  My legs have felt heavy lately so I didn't think I was going to beat 6 minutes but as long as I ran better than the last time I would have been happy.
     At the start of the run I found a pacer that was going to run 6 minutes flat and I knew I had to stay with her and surge past at the end to accomplish my goal.  I kept up with her for what felt like hours and every time I looked sideways someone else had dropped out of the lead pack.  My lungs were on fire, I couldn't breath, and my legs felt like bricks.  We finally turned the last corner and I could see the finish about 300m away.  At about the same time I started to fall back, I don't know if it was mental or if I was physically spent, but I sensed my goal escaping me.  I managed to hold what I had for a little longer and finished just behind my pacer. 
     I was pissed, I was so close to finishing under 6 and I let it go at the very end.  The anger didn't last long because soon after I started dry heaving and puking.  My only concern then was to not look like too much of an asshole.  With my lungs still on fire, I ran the course backwards to cool down and head over to our social in the park.  The official finish times greeted me us there and everyone dashed over to see what their official times were.  I wasn't in too much of a hurry because deep down I was disappointed even though I had still improved. 
     The times are posted in order of finish, so I found the 6 minute marker and starting looking down the list.  I passed six or seven names and was looking at the 6:20 times thinking to myself I knew I hadn't ran that bad.  I went back to the 6 minute marker and started looking backwards.  It turned out to be a glorious sight; there it was, Kevin G. at 5:59, success was mine. 
     In the end I am unsure if it was worth it, my lungs still hurt today, a half day later, and I didn't do anything but lay on the couch like a turd for the rest of the night last night.  However, in two months I would love to be writing about how I ran a 5:30 mile, even if it does hurt like this.