Here's an indicator the elite track season might be winding down: Last night Nick Symmonds, fifth in the Olympic 800-meter final, moved up in distance and lowered his American record in the beer mile. Symmonds' time was 5:19, he reported on Twitter.

For the uninitiated, a few notes about beer miling: The event consists of drinking a beer, then running a lap, four times, with the clock running the whole time. Each beer has to be finished before starting to run the next lap. Symmonds competed under the North American rules, which specify details such as a minimum alcohol content of 5.0%, no shotgunning or other methods of drinking other than from the beer can, and a penalty fifth lap for vomiting.