Day Before Mile Run?

Newbie

Hey I'm running a mile on Saturday and also on Tuesday. I've been hovering around 5:12 on cinder tracks and about 5:05 on all weather tracks for the entire season. I feel like I just need a little more preparation the day before race day to go under 5:00 on a fast all-weather track (my goal for the season.) Does anyone have any suggestions on how to put me over the edge on the day before race day or on race day. My race day and day before race day diet probably isn't cutting it and my lack of warm ups aren't either. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

-John

Newbie

Wow, that's fast!
You say your race day diet probably isn't cutting it? What do you eat for race day and pre-race day? I know this sounds a little weird but I've found caffeine to be a good boost. I'll have a cup of coffee about 30 minutes before i run and my VO gets a lot better. I dunno if this would help with sprinting but it might be something worth trying.

Newbie

coffee = BAD!!

coffee will make your heart race and will make your run MUCH more painful.

try eating lighter and warming up harder. sometimes we run too lightly right before the race to keep our legs fresh, but then when we race, the pain of running so fast hits us too hard and we can't handle it. if your legs are a little tired and fully warm before you race, you won't 'hit the wall' so hard and you might find your times will improve.

also, when you do paced repeats, run at 4:55/mi pace. so do your 400m repeats at 72-73 pace and do your 800m repeats at 2:26-2:27 pace. get comfortable with that pace. then, when it comes to race time, your legs will "know" the speed they are supposed to be turning over at.