Mike Miller

Hello SB Runners,

Nothing new to report on the running front, but I have been back to see my surgeon. He is very pleased with my progress (as am I) but he did lecture me for doing too much too soon. I had been feeling so good, but he reminded me that I am not 21 anymore and I need to give my tendon time to repair itself. So I backed off and will go back in a couple of weeks. It is my sincere hope that I can begin running again in early January.

I am still getting the awkward nods and smiles when I tell people that I am going to begin training again. It is difficult to explain, so I typically don’t try to explain my reasoning. Breaking the 4:00 mile for the first time was an incredible experience and I’d do just about anything to feel that rush again. My first sub 4:00 mile came in 2000 in Eugene. I was just coming off a 90 mile week and I felt awful when I landed in Oregon. As I warmed up, I distinctly remember thinking that I should not have wasted the money on a plane ticket.

Once the race started, the Eugene crowd got me fired up and I went through the first 800 meters in about 1:58 flat and felt like I was walking. The only guy in the race that I was really paying attention to was Dan Browne (Yes, the 10K/Marathoner). At that point in his career, he was still racing in 5Ks and miles as tune ups for his longer races. Dan and I go way back and actually have a bit of history. He went to West Linn high school and I went to Milwaukie high so we raced a few times, most in the 4 X 400 relay. We had a couple of battles that we both still remember to this day.

Dan and I were waiting patiently behind a couple of other guys until we hit the bell lap. At that point I knew that I had a great chance to break 4:00. With 300 meters to go, I was going to bounce outside and pass the two people in front of me. I took a look over my shoulder and saw that there was only a very small space for me to cut in front of Dan. I decided to point and tell him, “I am cutting out, watch your step.” Just as I finished saying that, Dan surged up to box me in (There was money for the top three and nobody raced for money better than Dan Browne).

I was trapped with nowhere to go and the pace was slowing. So being the impatient person that I am, I slowed way down to let the pack go by me and then I bounced out to lane three and took off. I immediately passed a couple of people and caught back up to the three guys I was chasing initially. With about 80 meters to go, the 90 mile week jumped on my back and I STRUGGLED to the line. My heart felt like it would burst and my legs felt like stumps (sound familiar?). As I crossed the line, I saw 3:58.xx for the winner on the massive scoreboard and then there was a pause. 3:59.xx for second, the Hayward Field crowd erupts…after another pause the scoreboard shows 3:59 high for Dan and the crowd goes wild. I was fourth and after I saw Dan’s time, I hung my head thinking that I had missed that magical barrier once again. Then I heard another eruption from the crowd and I looked up to see my time…3:59.86. I had just squeaked it out.

I was hurting so bad after the race that I didn’t enjoy breaking 4:00 until I finally started my cool down. I still remember it like it was yesterday. I was running down a dimly lit road and it finally hit me. I would be a part of history for the rest of my life. To this day, fewer than 300 Americans can make the claim that they are sub 4:00 milers. That feeling that I had as I ran into the Eugene, Oregon night is why I want to do this again.

For those of you that are wondering, Dan Browne taught me a valuable lesson that night. I never again told another runner what my next move was going to be!

Again, thank you all for your nice comments and encouragement. Enjoy the holiday season and I hope to see you on a run in the VERY near future.

This weekend I eagerly logged on to my lap top to see how the Olympic Trials had finished up. I still have many friends and former training partners that were racing for a spot on the Olympic Team. When I first logged on, the first thing that I saw was that Ryan had passed away. I can not explain the shock and the horrible feeling that I experienced. 

 Ryan and I trained together at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista so I got to know him fairly well. To this day I still tell the story of my first and only pulled hamstring. I was doing a speed workout that was designed by Joe Vigil along with Ryan, Meb Keflezighi and a bunch of other long distance runners. I thought that it would be a walk in the park….I am a miler after all. About half way through that workout, Ryan and I had dropped the rest of the group. At one point I looked over at him and he had this look of determination on his face, almost as if to tell me that he was going to hang with me no matter what I did. Sure enough, on one of our final intervals, I surged ahead and just as I went by him I felt a pinch in my hamstring. As I pulled up, Ryan looked over at me and gave me that look as though he wanted to say “You just got out kicked by a marathoner you chump!”

I learned a lot from that Vigil, Bob Larson, Shay and Keflezighi group. They taught me what being a professional runner was all about. I still thought that I could cut corners and that I could stay out late because I “only did it every once in a while.” After training with that group, my life changed for the better. I owe a great deal to them and to Ryan. I wish his family and friends the best. Most of all, I wish coach Vigil the best. He and Ryan shared a bond that I have never seen between coach and athlete. Even though it was cut short, I can tell you that it was special.

Everyday is a gift….It is just a bummer that it takes things like this to remind me of that fact.