A Week of Training for a Sub-4 Mile

0:00 Next week, I'm attempting to run a sub4minute mile, something only 2,000 people in history have ever done. For context, this is how fast the average American can run. But this sub4 attempt isn't my first. 66 days ago, in front of hundreds of thousands of people online, I came up just short. But since then, my training has been going extraordinarily well, and I feel ready, except for one slight problem. My knee. It hurts. A couple weeks ago, I got a cortisone shot, which helped until it didn't. And that should catch you up to today, which is Tuesday. And we're about to do what is arguably the most important track session that I have for the rest of the season. And that's for two reasons.

0:49 Number one, last week I had a bit of a perfect storm of inconveniences. You might hear my voice. I got a little bit sick. My knee hurts a little bit, a lot bit. And I got a blister on the back of my right foot. So in today's session, I need to rebuild the confidence that was shattered last week. And number two, today's session is 10 by 400 m, which is the best predictor that you can have for a mile. If I can hit every single rep at sub4 pace, then in theory I can break four minutes in the mile next week.

1:21 Cool. Let's get started. If I could run all 10 reps in under 60 seconds, then in theory I could break four in the mile. And switching to spikes would give me the best data. Don't judge by socks and spikes. I don't race like this. I just had that blister. I'm going to test out this new camera I got. POV. You're about to run a rep with me. If I want to break four minutes in the mile, every lap's got to be just under 60 seconds. But if I want to survive this workout, every lap has to be a consistent just under 60 seconds.

1:53 We're running in lane eight cuz my knee I told you I'm a mess right now. Ready? >> Y. >> So, I have this problem when I run workouts where um I I just can't pace. Wee bit slow. Better to be slow than fast. I'm expecting this to be hard around rep five or more challenging. And to keep it from getting too hard, I mentioned that I need to make every rep consistent, which that's my issue is I tend to run reps really fast at the start and really slow at the finish.

2:44 For example, on this rep, I ran a 59.5, but it was probably more like a 2732 split. >> Should I do it to him? >> Uh, backwards backwards rep. So, we're going to go backwards, hat. >> Oh, bro. You get a nice little peek at Casey's face. >> One.

3:17 >> What did that look like? Was that cool? >> Six down. >> And then there was one. Let's go, Trey. Oh, >> boy. >> As Casey, my unattached training partner, peeled off, the workout became solely on me and how well I could pace it myself. Although it looks smooth, this was around when I really started to feel it. Okay, that's eight down. My throat's really starting to close up. But I'm going to give myself 2 minutes. And if I can give myself a couple a couple 61s in these last reps, I'll be happy.

4:02 Those 61s were a little off pace and two minutes would be a bit long on the recovery. Sometimes in track, it's important to know when to call an off. That 2 minutes really was my saving grace. I was able to split 60 on my second to last rep. And my last one, well, here it is.

4:50 >> What was that? >> 583, >> dude. than the last 200. I I checked my watch through like the line and not the true 200 and I saw 32 and I freaked out. I was like [ __ ] So I kicked the last bit and that's why I ran 58. >> Dang. So you ran at 26? >> No, cuz it was the the fake 200. It was the line >> and not the true like cuz I was running lane eight.

5:16 >> Though the average ended up being a fraction of a second slow, that was largely due to just one rep that I kind of messed up. So regardless, the workout fulfilled its purpose and I left it feeling good until the next morning. Bad news, the knee, she's not feeling much better. I thought maybe with the new blights I'm doing and the new like little exercises I might wake up and it might feel great, but it doesn't. So today's just a standard easy day and lift. But I really need this to start feeling better because not only am I racing that mile next week, but I haven't mentioned this. I'm running an 800 this week.

5:58 And an 800's fast and that's a lot of strain on your knee ripping left ways around the track. So hopefully hopefully I can jog a little bit today. That's right. In just 4 days, I was meant to race at 800. though. Even this run did not feel very good. Okay, it's warming up a little bit. That's a good sign.

6:28 I think I'll be able to trudge through this run. Okay, so my heart rate was higher than normal and my knee hurt, so that wasn't great. But by about halfway, it had warmed up and I survived. That's all that matters. If you're somebody that's dealing with something like this, um, don't push through it. This is stupid of me. Admittedly, I'm just in a tricky situation right now, and I I feel like I need to, but be smart.

7:05 Despite spending all day today stressing about my knee, it actually felt pretty good on my second run. And now I'm lifting. I'm doing some targeted like isometrics and stuff as well as a little bit of pop to try to make it up and be ready for the race this weekend. All right, I'm getting ready to head to the track, but first I need to get ready. When I'm preparing for my workouts, every little advantage I can get pushes me closer to that sub4 barrier, and the feed is what I use to find those improvements. These are a few of the ways that I've been getting the most out of my workouts. First, these electrolytes. I sip on them throughout the day to stay hydrated. Intro workout, I've been using this high carb drink mix from the Feed Labs. And then after every workout, ketone IQ shots. Elite athletes know that 1% improvements compound over time. And The Feed is basically a one-stop shop for all of this. The Feed is the world's largest sports nutrition marketplace. And my favorite part is that they give you the opportunity to mix and match, meaning that you can try as little as one product or one flavor from any given brand, but then you can order it all together in one package like this, compiling all of your personal advantages into one. Bottom line, the feed is where athletes go to get fed. If you scan the QR code that is on screen now, you can get 40% off your first order. Or if you're on mobile, just click that top link in the description. Thank you to the feed for sponsoring this video and helping me get closer to that sub for barrier. Now, I believe we have a workout to get done. I think the biggest pain with me having to work out in the afternoons is this traffic, dude. Okay, this is a really, really terrible example, but look, we're about to stop. We're about to stop, >> dude. How far does it go?

8:41 >> So many of these damn love plugs, dude. >> All right. Where else would I be on a Thursday afternoon but the track? Today we're doing a filler workout. It's like just to get the legs kind of revving, get the legs moving before the the race on Saturday, the 800 race on Saturday. It is 4x 800, 10k pace, 4x400, 5k pace, 4x200 mile pace. That's it.

9:13 That's the workout. Just get those legs flowing. You know, it's looking like it might rain any second. This specific warmup we do is 3 minutes at tempo and we do it before every hard effort to open the capillaries. 3minut tempo onto the workout. >> And just to reiterate, today's workout's purpose was to be a filler workout. Meaning nothing too taxing on the legs. Just feel good. And look at these damn love bugs, bro.

9:48 Again, I'm going backwards in some of these reps for my knee purposes. At this point in the workout, I was a bit worried. It wasn't hard, but it was harder than it should have been. That was until we transitioned to the 400s, though, and I started to feel a bit better. What are you up to on a Thursday, Trenton? Oh, nothing. Just throwing a few quarters in the old slot machine.

10:21 That quote sounded a lot cooler in my head. All right, four's down. It's time to turn over some twos. And honestly, the 200s were never meant to be hard. They were just to turn the legs over at the end of the workout, and they felt good. Also, why do I always look so short on these meta videos? >> Reps two backwards. Go.

11:01 >> Ball game. >> Oh, >> now we get to cool down and go to dinner. So, with another training day in the books, I walked my way off the track until this is the this is the runner's walk of shame. Every real runner knows the pain of taking off your shirt after a rep, then you leave it or you left it and you have to walk back and get it. I just walked in a fashion show.

11:31 That was cool. Anyway, I've decided to tape my knee to see if this can't give me a little bit of relief. I watched a video on how to do it for the MCL, which is kind of a similar area to where I'm feeling it. So, my leg is too sweaty. Stick. I figured it out. I will keep you guys posted as to how this feels during the run. No, I'm just playing. Obviously, I have to turn off my phone. I'll be back.

12:02 Okay, bad news. The KT tape lasted all of about a mile and a half. But way, way, way better news is my knee felt the best it has felt in weeks between miles three and seven. Like I actually completely felt like myself. So clearly what I'm doing is working to an extent. I need to keep at it before this 800 tomorrow and this mile next week. Good morning. It's like 8:30 or so, and right now I'm running my 15-minute shakeout. This is just meant to wake the body up, prime the legs for later. I might do a couple strides after, but before I forget, let me tell you guys exactly what the race day routine is going to look like. So, 5 to 6 hours out was my shakeout, plus I ate breakfast. At around 11:15, that's like 3 hours out. I'm going to take a Nomio. Today's my first time trying that for a race. Shortly after that, pop my bagel, Nutella, the classic stack. Two hours out, we go for a beach shot. About an hour and a half, hour 45, we're going to go with by carb. Sip a little caffeine between then and my warm-up.

13:06 And then it's time to tow the line. Now, am I ready to run an 800? Probably not. But the purpose of today's race is just to sharpen up for next week's race. I'm going to get out there and I'm going to push myself as far into that lactic cave. The 800 is not my main event. I'm basically guaranteed a PR when I step out there, hopefully. If not, that's really sad. I think my PR is like 154 from last year.

13:28 But um yeah, I haven't really been training for it. I'm not really fit to run my best possible 800. But what better way to get into fitness than to race into fitness. To get into the fastest heat of this race, I was able to convert my 1500 time into a 150.22, which would be over a 4se secondond PR from my actual PR. Being in the fast heat worried me a little because I knew they'd get out, but I knew I would race better if I just ran my own pace and let the race come to me.

14:01 So, it only took a 100 m and I was already feeling a bit gapped. By the time we came through 200 m, I was in dead last. But even as I entered the home stretch, a good 5 m behind my competition, I knew that playing into my mild aerobic abilities was about to pay off.

14:45 By the time we hit the 400, I was reattached to the pack and ready to make some moves. This was a move I would typically avoid making, but I knew that an 800 was short, so I started to pass on the curve. By the time I got to the back straightaway, I felt like I was floating, and I made it my goal to close the gap before we hit the 600 mark.

15:23 It was at this point that I had almost reattached myself to the leaders and thought that I would use the curve to my advantage. I made it my goal to slingshot past everyone on this last 100 meter streak. And I knew that if I pushed myself as far as possible into that lactic cave, I could come out with a new PR, but more importantly, new fitness. Wow. Just wow. That was a 4 second PR to the decimal. I went from 154.91 last year to 150.91 this year. And I'm pretty sure my mile PR is 401.91.

16:04 So I must just really love that decimal. Wow. Not. That is such a good sign because quite candidly, I've been kind of scared of the 800. You know, it was like my main love in high school, but now that I'm in college, it's kind of just my side piece, you know, like I really just focus on the mile and then the 800 gets some love when it can. And today got a little bit of love. I don't know, dude. No one ever tells you how fun it is to race when you're actually fit and you're actually healthy. Cuz I just I just felt great out there. I after the after the race, I went and I did um 8 by 3 minutes at like tempo. It was a little slower than my tempo pace, but it was also like 95 degrees in direct sunlight and postra, so grain of salt. And now I'm here. I'm lifting on a Saturday evening while everyone else sat at the pool. Who cares? You know, the stuff you got to sacrifice sometimes. In here, I'm just doing a little stuff for my snap to keep that active and mostly focusing on a few exercises of my knee. I didn't take any videos, but upstairs I just did some like isometric leg presses. My goal is that after an off day tomorrow, I wake up feeling great. Just great on I hate this stupid train, bro.

17:27 There is no end in sight. Okay, happy Monday. Happy race week. I've got 4 days until I'm breaking four minutes in the mile. It's crazy. It feels like this time it came up so so quickly compared to last, you know, last time I started a series like 60some days out and I basically just had this clock on my head for Boston. This year I didn't make my final decision till about 10 days out.

17:57 >> That was fully my fault. I forgot to charge my camera um last night or the other day or the day before that. So, it died like less than a mile into my run. But what I was trying to say is that this week is all about just getting my legs back under me. Today, I ran 8 miles this morning and I did a couple hills. My knee felt the best that it's felt in a long time when I woke up. Right now, I'm eating some Greek yogurt with fruit, though it's mostly just fruit. No fitness is gained this week. I like to think of it as like a gas tank. If the workouts are the things that are building up your gas tank, adding more like volume to your gas tank, then the recovery is what's allowing you to refill that gas tank.

18:41 I've built up a gas tank that's capable of subfloor. Now, I just have to fill it with gas. That was corny. Anyway, um this afternoon I'm probably going to run again and tomorrow we have another workout. >> All right, today is my final workout before I attempt a sub4 mile. There's really nothing special or spectacular about today. I'm just going to do I think three 600s in my 5K, 5300s at my mile pace. Good rest between. I don't even know what the rest is going to be.

19:06 I'm just going to go completely off of how I feel. Oh, update on the knee. I did like a lot of research today and I'm pretty sure it is some sort of semimebrosis/tendinosis tendinitis. Those are big words for saying like the end of my hamstring where it attaches to my knee. A little bit of like just tendonitis there. I can turn through that shortly. Holy mess, it is hot out here. There's a little bit of wind on the home stretch, which you might think is like annoying because you're going to have to run to the wind, but it's currently our only saving grace in this heat.

19:51 Once again, on this workout, just like the week before, I didn't feel quite as good as I wanted to. So, I've decided to put on spikes for these 300s. I just really, really want to dial in on that mile face. And though it didn't feel good as I wanted it to, dial in I did. With an average pace of 44.04 per rep, I was on the perfect pace for sub 4 in just a few days. All right, officially all the hay is in the barn. I now have 75 hours until I'm lining up at the Torren Lawrence Memorial at the University of Georgia to attempt to break four minutes in the mile. All of the next three days is going to be in a separate video. So, make sure that you guys subscribe. You won't miss it. I promise when I break four, it's going to be a movie. Thanks for sticking around and yeah, do that subscribe thing again if you haven't.