I approached the loop and reset my watch. Paused to do a few last minute stretches, then I was off. I had no idea what a 1:40 lap should feel like, only that I shouldn’t be comfortable. Although it shouldn’t be comfortable, I also knew I didn’t want to push too hard and gas myself halfway through. As long as I was close to 1:40 in the first lap, even if I wasn’t at full speed, I could turn it up a bit on the back end to make up for lost time. I felt my watch buzz alerting me that I’d just crossed the quarter-mile and anxiously checked the time. 1:41.2

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I was just barely behind pace but also confident that I could continue to speed up. I wasn’t quite gasping for air but was getting close. I pushed myself a bit harder and felt a familiar burning sensation creeping into my chest and lungs. I learned a new term today, the “Pain Cave.” A place of moderate to extreme discomfort that runner’s force themselves into over and over again. Once you’ve been there, there’s a sort of comfort that comes with finding it again because you begin to learn your boundaries and how far you can push them. I was just approaching the pain cave as I finished my 2nd lap. 1:39.5

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Now I knew I was going to set a PR. Like I said, I hadn’t run for speed in a while so I’d been nervous that I’d push too hard and gas out midway through. As I crossed the halfway point, I knew that I had enough in me to finish, and knew I could continue to push harder. I continued to elevate my pace paying careful attention to my stride and my breathing. “Just keep going” was all I could think. Keep pushing harder. I felt the buzz of the third lap and saw my watch face flash 1:36.8.