Just Beat It: 2019 5th Avenue Mile Race Recap

The 2019 New Balance 5th Avenue Mile happened so long ago, but that is my theme this fall: Better late than never. It’s a solid theme and I’ve been very consistent with it.

I ran this race last year so when it came time to sign up for 2019 NYRR races, I figured I’d run it again. Not that I trained for it; I’d spent the summer marathon training, not mile training. The only recent fast mile I’d run was another mile race: June’s Northport Downhill Mile, where I ran a PR of 6:35. Although that race had no starting mat and a wonky start, so I don’t know if I should even count that as an official time.

I know 6:35 is pure easy jogging pace for some folk, but please know that I am a middle-aged lady who moves her legs for fun, and that’s probably as good as it’s going to get for me these days. As someone who ran 5Ks in her 20s at a 9:30 pace, I’m not apologizing.

Let’s Go Crazy: 2018 5th Avenue Mile Race Recap

I almost didn’t sign up for this race. I just didn’t think I was all that fast and maybe didn’t see the point in running a race that was essentially a sprint.

Several weeks later, when I was looking for more races to add to my calendar, I saw it on the NYRR schedule again and thought, wait, why NOT run this? Who cares how fast I am? WHO CARES ABOUT ANYTHING AT ALL? So I signed up. Heck, I’d get a shirt or a hat, too. What’s to lose?

I’ve been training for the marathon, so most of my runs have been longer distances. I’ve done 5Ks and 10Ks in the 7:45-7:55 pace range. The interval workouts I’ve done have gone down to paces in the low 7:00s a few times, but only for a quarter mile to five-eights of a mile at a time. I’ve hit the 6:00s, but not for long. I had absolutely no idea how fast I could run a mile.