My Sub 6-minute Dream

1,760 yards. 5,280 feet. But, really, it's so much more than that.

A mile. One single mile. Today at 7:30 a.m., I’m running one damn mile as fast as I can. That’s 1,760 yards. Or, 5,280 feet. I’m hoping to do it in 6 minutes or less. For the past few weeks, I’ve had butterflies thinking about it.

“As fast as I can.” 

That’s meant a lot of different things for me over the years. When I started running (more about that, here), that meant 14-minute half-miles, carrying an extra 40 pounds along for the ride. I didn’t make the junior varsity volleyball team in high school because I couldn’t run a sub 10-minute mile. In 2013, I ran an average pace of 9:17/mile in my first marathon through the streets of Hartford, a 26.2-mile race. 

26.2 consecutive fucking miles.

Lots of expletives already today. You can tell I’m feeling some kind of way.

Anyway. The quest to find my fast — to move “as fast as I can” — it’s one that’s challenged me over the years. Eight marathons and too many miles to count later, it’s a journey that’s made me who I am. A journey that’s encouraged me to better my best, embrace frustration, celebrate accomplishments, and get gritty. Sure, the journey has always been rich and meaningful and special.

This year, it feels even more-so.

Right now, it feels good to have butterflies about something. It feels good to be excited about a maybe-crazy goal and continue on this quest to unlock my own potential. In a time that’s been filled with so many ups and downs, shooting for that sub 6-minute dream gives me hope for more. A hope that doesn’t dwindle based on who walks in or out of my life, misconstrued text messages, gigs I do or don’t land, phone calls gone unanswered, an election, or a virus. 

Quite literally, tomorrow I’ll show up to a track and run fast.
That’s all.
No official race bib.
No post-race party.

To some, it’s just one damn mile.
That’s OK.
I don’t need you to understand.
To me?
It’s so much more.

See you on the other side.

—

PROMPT: What’s your crazy goal? Click “comment” and let me know below.