I was looking at Coralie's RR (great job Coralie!) and saw LTH's 5k pacing strategy response. I started responding to it there, but didn't want to hijack her thread. I came up with my own 5k pacing strategy and was wondering how the rest of you REALLY feel during a 5k. First, here's LTH's strategy and then mine.
LTH pacing strategy for a 5K.
Mile 1 - Run hard as hell.
Mile 2 - Beat yourself up for running Mile 1 so damn hard.
Mile 3 - Pray for someone to shoot you in the kneecaps so you'll feel better.
Workinprogress's pacing strategy for a 5k:
Mile 1.5 - Be amazed at how fast you ran mile 1 and start wondering when the crap is going to hit the fan.
Mile 1.6 - Said crap hits fan when intense stomach cramp and/or side stitch hits.
Mile 1.61 - Try to be strong and fight through it.
Mile 1.62 - Try to decide whether to cry, puke, pass out, stop or slow down.
Mile 1.63 - Slow down
Mile 2 - Hold on for dear life and question why you ever run 5k's while tears run down your cheeks because your stomach hurts so badly.
Mile 2.5 - Slow down even more because if you don't you won't finish the race and that's not an option unless you are unconscious.
Finish - Get pissed at yourself for not hitting sub 26 AGAIN when your HM PR predicts well under that and deride yourself for being such a wimp.
Yet, I get out there and do it again. I must be some kind of masochist.
I'd love to hear how other people truly feel during a 5k.
Hip Redux
Mine is sort of like:
Starting line - Tell myself to not go out too fast
Mile 1 - Go out way too fast
Mile 2.0 - Try to ignore that I have to puke
Mile 2.1 - OMG, how am I going to keep this pace up for another mile?
Mile 3.0 - Fuuucccckkkk.
Post race - Well, that was awesome, when's the next one?
I also get those side stitches (had to stop in my last 5k because of it) but they are getting less frequent. But I get how awful they are!!
Mile 1 - Go out just fast enough that I'm questioning whether I can hold this pace.
Mile 2 - Pick up the effort level in order to maintain even pace. It will start to get uncomfortable.
Mile 3 - Step it up one final notch. It will hurt like hell, but I just tell myself it'll be over in X minutes.
Last .1 - Just when I think there are no more gears to kick it into, run as fast as I possibly can. Feel like puking.
faster than a glacier
Mile 1 - Go out just fast enough that I'm questioning whether I can hold this pace. Mile 2 - Pick up the effort level in order to maintain even pace. It will start to get uncomfortable. Mile 3 - Step it up one final notch. It will hurt like hell, but I just tell myself it'll be over in X minutes. Last .1 - Just when I think there are no more gears to kick it into, run as fast as I possibly can. Feel like puking.
Much too logical and sensible. I could never pull it off
Beer-and-waffle Powered
Pre-race get in a decent warm-up with some race-pace intervals (2X1 minute or something like that).
Overall I usually shoot for even or negative splits, that's pretty much the extent of my strategy.
In the words of my late-coach : Just hang in there, relax... and at the end of a race anyone you see.....just pass them
I've only managed to pull it off once, so I really shouldn't speak
Run like hell. Pant, wheeze, cough, gasp, for the next three miles. Collapse at the finish line. Feel great, but nauseous for the rest of the day.
Mine is similar but by HR so:
Mile 1 - reach 175HR and hold on
Mile 2 - start struggling and HR reaches 178
Mile 3 - if I have not had an ashma attack, push above 180 and hold on dear life
0.10 - the finish line is there! Don't die!
Damaris
As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.
Fundraising Page
Are we there, yet?
I decide what I think I'm capable of race day and start at what feels like the right effort and plan to hold that pace, whatever it turns out to be, until the final sprint over the last 100m or so. Each mile will get a little harder so I expect the first mile to feel fast but relatively easy, about my interval pace. Mile two I will start to notice that I need to concentrate to maintain that pace but it should not be a struggle. About the halfway point I know I need to start increasing the effort to maintain my pace and I start focusing on the runners around me. If I've judged my pace right I should begin to catch and pass other runners. The third mile I'm finally working hard and starting to look for markers indicating how much farther to go. (I try to warm-up over the last part of the course so I'm familiar with the finish.) At that point if I can maintain pace and not let anyone pass me, I'm probably running about as fast as feasible until I'm ready to sprint. Unless the finish is downhill, that final sprint is going to be only 50m-150m. When I leave the chute I usually have volunteers asking if I'm all right. I am, but I've just put out a hard effort for 20+ minutes and I might be a little wobbly on my feet.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
This.
My last few have gone similarly to the OP:
Mile 1 - Run at a speed where I think "holy crap, this feels fast". Interestingly, I don't have a terrible sense of this, because the first mile of my races ends up being pretty reasonable based on my other PRs. So, at least I'm not going crazy and going out way too fast.
Mile 1.5 - Be amazed at how fast I ran mile 1 and start wondering when the crap is going to hit the fan.
Mile 1.6 - Said crap hits fan (sort of literally) when my intestines decide they aren't pleased at all.
Mile 1.61 - Try to be strong and fight through it. Converse with my stomach, trying to convince it it is happy.
Mile 1.7 - Slow down. There is no time goal worth crapping my pants.
Mile 2 - Feeble attempt at speeding back up. Lasts until the stomach decides it is not having any of that nonsense.
Repeat last two steps for about a mile
Mile 3 - Kick into the finish for all I'm worth
Finish - Get pissed at myself for not hitting sub 24 when my HM PR predicts well under that.
5K's and I are not friends
My wildly inconsistent PRs:
5k: 24:36 (10/20/12)
10k: 52:01 (4/28/12)
HM: 1:50:09 (10/27/12)
Marathon: 4:19:11 (10/2/2011)
Mine is sort of like: Starting line - Tell myself to not go out too fast Mile 1 - Go out way too fast Mile 2.0 - Try to ignore that I have to puke Mile 2.1 - OMG, how am I going to keep this pace up for another mile? Mile 3.0 - Fuuucccckkkk. Post race - Well, that was awesome, when's the next one?
Mine is much the same. Except about every half mile I say to myself "why can't I live somewhere
without hills?" "why why why, it's just a freaking 5k, why can't we have just one race without hills"
Chasing Rainbows
Mile 1 - Run as hard as hell.Mile 2 - Why am I doing this? Am I stupid or what?Mile 3 - SUCK IT UP PRINCESS!!!Last .1 - Run like my ass is on fire and the extinguisher is at the finish line.Finish - Never again!Next Day - When's the next race?
The obstacle is the path. - Zen proverb
YAYpril - B-Plus
I don't run 5k's very often, but it usually ends up something like this:
Mile 1: Start a little too fast
Mile 1.5: Why am I not done yet? This is so dumb, I hate 5k's, why do I put myself through this?
Mile 2: Keep running, don't die. WTF, side stitch? Go away. (This usually happens because I breathe 2/2 in the first 2 miles of a 5k, so I have to consciously adjust my breathing to exhale on opposite feet every now and then)
Mile 3: Don'tdiedon'tdiedon'tdiedon'tdiewe'realmostdonedon'tdie
Mile 3.1: SEE THE FINISH, GO GO GO
I have a 5k on Saturday that I'm hoping to PR on. We'll see how that goes.
I have done a 180 degree turn as to how I approach and race the 5k. These days, my biggest task is to remain loose and relaxed no matter how much pain and distress I am in.
My in-race strategy is the following:
Plan to run even splits through the first 2.5 miles.
Do not run faster than my chosen pace for extended periods during the first 2.5 miles.
At best, try to run a negative split for the third mile. At worst, run a pace no slower than the first 2 miles.
From the 3 mile mark, race to the finish with whatever I have left, taking care not to kick too soon. Some days that is a 200 meter kick, some days it is 100 meters, and some days that could be a 50 meter kick. It all depends on how the race went.