Analyzing Results from 1-Mile Time Trials
Each month, the Galloway method recommends completing a 1-mile time trial. This allows runners to adjust their training accordingly. I compare my May 2024 and June 2024 time trials.
About every month, Coach Dana has me run a time trial. She calls it my monthly “reset” workout. It helps her (and me) see where I’m at running-wise to make plans and adjustments as my training continues.
The goal of the time trial is to run as fast as I can for a mile. I shouldn’t be vomiting or running to the point of complete exhaustion at the end — these time trials are typically part of my long runs — but I shouldn’t be able to keep running at the same pace.
For the time trial, I spend about 20 minutes or so warming up. The warm-up includes some walking, easy jogging, dynamic stretching, and acceleration strides. Sometimes acceleration strides are used as a training tool after long runs, but in my case, they were a way for me to warm-up my brain/body connection so I can run at a faster pace after warming up.
So far, I’ve run two time trials.
Time Trial 1: May
I ran my first time trial in May on a day with no end in sight to the rain forecast. When I woke up it was pouring, so I decided to wait it out, hoping for a break in the weather long enough for me to complete the workout. I ate my pre-run poptart, and laced up my shoes as soon as the rain stopped.
Besides the rain creating puddles all over the neighborhood, it was also one of the most humid days I’d run during in my marathon training up to that point. The run itself was especially sweaty, but still I pushed myself and ran only 5 seconds slower (12:04/mile) than my 1-mile PR at that point (11:59/mile, set December 2023).
Something else of note is the presence of our little neighborhood crabs. We have yet to ID them, but I remember they scuttled all over the place during the run. They’re fairly hard to see because they blend in with the asphalt road.
Time Trial 2: June
For the June time trial, I had to make the difficult decision of starting my run before 6:00 AM or after 6:00 PM. Kimberly raced in a sprint triathlon the same day I was set to do my time trial and I didn’t want to miss it. Ultimately, I decided to run in the morning after thinking back to my long run last weekend and how the evening may be a little bit drier than the morning, but it is by no means cooler.
I ate a mixed berry multi-grain bar for breakfast, drank some water, and headed out the door. I didn’t bring nutrition or hydration with me for either of the time trials because 1) the total mileage for both runs was 3.00 miles, and 2) it’s annoying to carry water and/or wear the vest if I don’t really need to.
Since the sun hadn’t risen when I started my run at 5:45 AM, I attached a flashing bike light to one of my sneakers, wore my neon green Tri It For Life reflective visor, and opted for a pink tank top rather than the dark green I planned on wearing. Safety first!
While running pre-time trial, I saw a couple of neighborhood cats staking claim on their respective driveways and — my coolest wildlife sighting so far — a turtle! At first, I didn’t realize the turtle was, actually, a turtle. It was still fairly dark, I just saw an unidentifiable black mass crawling across the road. Just a minute earlier, the sound of water from someone’s sprinkler hitting a tree caused me alarm, so I was on high alert. As I got closer, though, I noticed it was a turtle. He was moving a lot faster than I anticipated a turtle would, and as I ran past him he pulled his arms and legs into his shell, just leaving his head out slightly. When I passed by the same spot a few minutes later he was gone.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of the turtle because I didn’t have my phone handy.
The time trial itself was very sweaty and I felt myself pushing hard. There were a few moments where I noticed I slowed down, so I picked it back up again, finishing with a time of 11:07, nearly a minute faster than my last time trial.
Looking at the Stats
First, a big thank you to Coach Dana for compiling these stats (especially the May data, because I didn’t have the temperature or dew point logged).
Looking at the chart, it’s easy to see that while the runs themselves were under similar conditions — albeit unintentionally — I pushed myself more during the June time trial, increasing my cadence and my power.
Focusing on cadence is relatively new to me. When I ran cross country, I remember being told to lengthen my stride, and thus take fewer steps, in order to increase speed. Increasing cadence means increasing the number of steps taken, effectively quickening foot turnover to go faster. I didn’t realize I had increased my cadence during the June time trial, but I do think that increase helped me achieve my new PR!
My heart rate also hit higher numbers for the June time trial, which translates to the significant increase in power between May and June. Looking at these stats, I was surprised; when running, I felt that I was having a worse time trial than in May, because at the end, while I still was able to keep running after the trial ended, I felt more out of breath. Even later in the day and the next day I felt more tired than I remember. This could, however, be recency bias because I didn’t have a running diary at that point.
Why did I go so much faster?
Cutting nearly a minute off my time is significant. The data shows that my cadence increased and I ran with more power; these are the numerical signifiers of improvement. But what really happened?
I hadn’t thought about this until Kimberly brought it up (this is why she reads everything before I send it out), but consistency in my running routine could be one the reasons for this dramatic increase. When I did my time trial in May, I was coming off of two weeks of no running because of my wedding and honeymoon, and one week with missed workouts because I was sick. Even before those three weeks, I didn’t have a specific running plan. I just created my own based on various online resources.
Since the last time trial, I’ve been working with Dana on a personalized running plan. We’re targeting paces and distances; I’ve changed my run/walk interval length; and I’ve built a consistent training routine where each week I have run three days, gone on at least one walk, and attended a yoga class once or twice. My runs — long and short — have overall felt easier. Showing up for myself in my training each day has really made a difference.
Up Next in Training
Based on my improved time trial, Dana will be working with me on new drills and speedwork. Since I started training in May, I’ve had two easy, short runs and one long run every week.
Making such progress is empowering. It shows me that what I’m doing matters and truly is preparing me for the marathon in November.
Up next? My longest long run yet. Nine miles! And I can’t wait.
This is awesome improvement!! I’m curious as to how power is measured, and I’m guessing it’s related to stride length?
The turtle sketch is my favorite