Magic Mile 2013

Hey everyone!

So on Sunday I remembered that I needed to do my Magic Mile this week. Thankfully, participation counts for more than the age graded time, as I know I am not a speedy runner. The last time I did the Magic Mile was back in 2011, when I somehow managed to run 7.53! Back then there was a perfect loop opposite my house- pavement (and a cycle path, so nice and wide) with no roads or entrances on it. I had to measure it on the internet, as back then I didn’t have a Garmin either, and so it was a bit less scientific- I had to run the loop one and a third I think (the mile was as accurate as I could get it). Anyway, since then the land in the middle of the loop has been turned into a distribution centre, so there are now two big entrances busy with lorries- not ideal for “sprinting” past.

In the end I settled on a route about half a mile away- it was an out and back route, which is not perfect, but better than having to cross roads and driveways etc. After work on Monday I jogged/ walked up there, to warm up, and then went for it. I decided to aim for 8 minute miles, and see if I could manage to hang on. Surprisingly, I nearly managed it. I was gasping at the end (and I found it a bit strange as I was sprinting until my Garmin beeped, instead of heading towards a finish line- hard to know exactly when to push)- my final time was 8.12. I was very glad I had chosen a shady route, and then walked over to the allotment to do some watering (yes with a watering can and not just with my sweat).

I also picked a handful of raspberries which I had on my breakfast this morning- delicious!

Alongside breakfast I had some blueberry iced tea. I was sent some BlueberryActive from the lovely folks and CherryActive, and I had tried it as you are meant to have it (diluted with water)- it was good but I fancied a fruity iced tea, so I made up some black tea with cherry (yes, it would probably taste better with CherryActive!) and then left it to cool, and in the morning poured it into the glass along with the blueberry juice and some ice cubes. I am looking forward to trying it in a smoothie too, before I do a “proper” review.

So, my magic mile time this year was slower than my time two years ago. I thought I might be disappointed, but I am not really. Partly I think last time I did it the mile I measured might not have been accurate, but also because last time I had been training regularly. I could take it that I have slowed down, but I know that is not true either. Since then my half marathon time has come down a lot, my 10K time has improved, and Parkruns are showing me that I can be at least consistent with a faster 5K time. I think the proper idea of the magic mile is to do some proper speed training, but as it fell right after a holiday that was never going to happen. My best 5K time at Parkrun is 27.12 (a time I have managed twice to the second!), and for that I have to run 8.45 minute miles, so I knew I could go quicker than that as it is a shorter distance. I managed it 30 seconds quicker, which I have decided is not too bad.

Today I was going to have a run after work, but I was shattered! I would normally have a rest day after a long run, and although my run on Sunday was not that long, it was further than I had been for a few weeks. As I have had stiff legs getting back into it I didn’t want to make it worse, and I want to be able to manage the Sweatshop run tomorrow.

I feel like I have not got into a proper routine yet- I like to know I am doing Pump on this day, long run on that day, and at the moment I keep changing things up, which can be good but it also means I get confused about how many runs I have been on (I was planning on running Mon, Tues, Wed, Sat and Sun, and when I worked that out I realised I would probably get too tired as I normally do 3 or 4 runs per week). I like things to be neat!

Do you like a routine or do you change things up each week?

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11 thoughts on “Magic Mile 2013”

  1. In general I like a routine – I tend to base the length of my run around what classes are on at the gym that day and when. However, I will switch up my runs due to bad weather conditions – I never used to do that, but I find that being more flexible is, unfortunately, essential given the winters we’ve been having. A few weeks ago it was sheeting it down with rain all day and I didn’t run until 7pm, which is absolutely unheard of for me and not something I’d care to repeat given how awful I felt. I wasn’t too slow, but I felt really weak the whole time…I don’t know how late evening runners do it!

    Congrats on your mile – honestly I don’t think unless something is Garmin-timed it’s terribly accurate anyway…and even then there’s margin for error! Unless I run a particular recorded split during a race I tend to take what my Garmin says with a pinch of salt. As you say, Magic Mile is all good fun anyway so it doesn’t matter in comparison to your faster race times 🙂

    1. I pay attention to the weather too- that’s a good point. If I am doing a longer long run then I will choose the better weather weekend day for it, and if one day it is going to be torrential rain then I would try to have that as a rest day and move things around. The really icy days did make me wish for a treadmill/ gym membership, but then I remember how boring I find a treadmill and know that I would probably only go on it for about 10 minutes!

  2. Fantastic mile time, well done.

    I hope your first days back at school were not toooooo traumatic, weekend is just around the corner 😉

  3. Well done on your mile time! You’re clearly improving if your other distances are getting better or staying consistent. I think a mile is a really hard distance. You want to go flat out but a mile is actually quite a way to maintain a really hard pace! I really prefer having time to get into a run.
    I’m such a routine person! Lately I’ve been swapping running for spinning and other gym classes and it’s all over the place! It’s a nightmare. I’ll be glad to get back in to running again…which I’m hoping will be tomorrow for the running club fingers crossed.

    1. You are right it is a long way to go flat out! I suppose practise makes perfect but I didn’t do any practising!
      Fingers crossed that you can get back running soon.

  4. I’m always changing things up but I am hoping to do my towns half marathon again next year so will have a routine for that at the beginning of next year.

    Love the blueberry active so good!

  5. Hope your first week back wasn’t too stressful!
    8:12 was great, especially for having not run regularly over the Summer.
    I tend to favour routine, although throwing something random in the mix occasionally works well too!

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