Erik’s Blog: Board Shorts and Business Suits

Most sports fans have heard about it, runners definitely know about it, and all middle distance runners obsess about it. The four minute mile! That’s a shade over four laps around a standard track in four minutes. The current world record as I write this is 3:43:13 held by Hicham El Guerrouj. The first person to break the barrier, Sir Roger Bannister in 1954.

During the early half of last century it was commonly thought that the 4 minute mile was impossible. People went as far as saying that one would spontaneously combust if he got too close to the time. But as people began getting closer and closer more started to believe it would be conquered in their lifetime. Once Bannister broke the barrier more followed. Since then however only a few thousand have managed to surpass the 4 minute mark (numbers from an interview with Sebastian Coe, unsure as to their validity.)

One reason I am so obsessed with the mile is because as a sophomore in highschool with only a short season of training I was able to run a 4:22 1600 meter. Sure I trained and raced and played multiple sports, but I never focused on the goal of running a 4 minute mile. Although there have been personal and health reasons for this which I allude to later I still often wonder… Some questions I have had since I stopped is could I have ever broken the 4 minute mile barrier had I trained like an elite miler?, do I have the correct genetic make-up?, or can I will myself to run faster and faster? (Also, will the fact that I had heavy metals (chemotherapy) pumped through my blood have any negative effect? (I think Lance Armstrong has answered this) plug for being a cancer survivor)

Well, keeping with the theme of my web log, I figure, now is as good a time as ever to find out the answers to those questions. With my new found ambition to tackle this goal I hope to discover a method for traning for the mile while still keeping a normal balanced life. This means not only running the mile but also learning how to run a faster and faster time. In order to keep others updated as to my progress as well as keeping myself accountable I plan on posting my training log on a weekly basis to this category of my web log. I will give my weekly miles along with pace, route, and feel. I will also give some good running, mile training and various workout tips as I learn and remember them.

Now for some background on my short lived running career.

Highschool
Running the mile in under 4 minutes is something I have dreamed of since sophomore year in high school. I first really ran the mile in 8th grade breaking 6 minutes, which was decent at that age but no great shakes. I then took a year hiatus from running my freshmen year to begin working. I had just finished a season of football and basketball and decided I needed to put a little cash in my pocket.

Sophomore year was a different story, I finished out another season of both football and basketball and then began seeing a senior girl who ran track. I also had a few friends who ran that convinced me practice was a regular meat market. Plus the girls all wore next to nothing which meant at least I’d get some good scenary. So I decided to join and try to work at the same time.

My first couple of indoor meets were on the JV team and I did ok. My times were down in the mid to low 5 minute range and after a few meets I began winning races. During my last indoor meet I ran in a varsity race and I broke 5 minutes. Once outdoor came my coaches decided I was ready to move up to Varsity for good. I began running in more and more meets and doing better and better. My times came down and by mid season I was in the mid 4 minute time-range. Finally at regionals (like the playoffs in other sports) my coaches decided to enter me in the 1600.

I made it through regionals and on to sectionals where I had to face two guys who had posted 2 of the top 5 times in the state that year. Not expecting to make top 2 in the sectional thus making it on to state (finals), my coaches and I decided I would just hang on with these two guys and see how far I could make it. I really don’t care much for completely failing as long as I gave it my all.

Well, it turns out I made it all the way to the last 200 hanging on their tails and when we turned into the final straight I out-kicked one of these guys and finished second with a time of 4:22, second best time in the state. You would have thought I won state, it was an exciting race but I think I was on cloud nine.

At state the idea was the same. Just hang on and see how far I could go. Well I ran almost the same exact time as sectionals and finished 8th. That however was the first time I really thought I could be one of those few people to run the 4 minute mile.

College
Well fast forward through highschool where I only was able to improve my time to 4:21. During my first year of college I finally ran a full season of cross country (60-80 miles a week) and only improved my 1600 time that spring to 4:19 (converted from 1500) and got my 800 time down to 1:54. Then during my second year after the fall X-Country season I transfered schools to the University of Michigan. I had talked with the coach and was planning to walk-on the following year. However during my first week of summer break I was diagnosed with testicular cancer, had 2 surgeries, a couple rounds of Chemo-Therapy and a few bad incision infections. This put a damper on any plans to run that fall.

My incisions finally healed in December of my Junior year and I really didn’t have much zest to get back into running. I began to focus on college and a future in science.

Current
My current running career is basically non-existant, I run here and there but never really consistently follow through with a training schedule. I keep active by road biking, surfing, tennis, hiking, and anything else to keep me in motion but never really focus on running. However, I recently became inspired to possibly pursue this dream again by two things:

1. I recently watched a friend of mine win a $100 bet that he could run a mile in under 6 minutes. (Rock on Kevin)

2. I recently read the book The Perfect Mile (listened actually to the audio book) about the quest for the four minute mile and how Roger Bannister, John Landy, and Wes Santee were all running to beat the other guy to the finish line. The Perfect Mile is quite a remarkable book. My current review of the book is to say that for middle distance runners The Perfect Mile is more inspiring than Running With The Buffaloes, also a great running inspiration. For those running the 800 or 1600 The Perfect Mile may just wins out. It tells so much history about a subject that has captivated almost all middle distance runners for the past century and a half. It also gives detailed accounts of training, and race day preparation. Although I would suggest either of these books The Perfect Mile has my vote as most inpiring if your planning to run the mile or just want a real account of what led to 3 men wanting to break one of sports most mysterious barriers.

So please join in following me as I learn how to become a 4 minute miler. I plan on starting out just running a route that takes me between 20 and 30 minutes to run. My initial thought is until Christmas I will run this route 3 to 5 times a week, regularly posting my weekly training log, and then run a time trial if you will before I go home for the holidays to see where I stand before the new year starts. My goal for accomplishing this task is prior to the age of 28. That would give me four years of base building, interval training, and repeats galore to become a 4 minute miler.

As I have mentioned before I live in Hawaii and I am able to train outdoors in great weather all year long. Although I have run 60+ mile weeks in sub-zero weather (I’m from Wisconsin), I think the constant 85 degree temperature will help immensely. Please feel free to leave your comments on training and/or post your quest to reach a running goal. It can be big, small, or in-between, just let us know what you’re up to and how your doing.