Smaller By The Day
Let me start by saying that I've never trained specifically for a 5K. I used to fun run them in high school when I was in wrestling.
Now, I'm 36 years old, and I've been running 5K's between longer races. The first one I ran, I didn't have a stitch of strategy. I just ran it at a pace that I thought I could maintain. I finished in 31:02. The next one I ran was at the recommendation of LTH to help find my pace for my first half marathon. I believe he used the term "gut busting". So, I was determined to bust my gut, but didn't know how to gauge my pace.
I was shocked that my first mile was under 9 minutes, and that's when I thought that maybe I could run faster than I thought. That's when I came up with this strategy.
I started chasing other runners. If I caught them, I would look for someone further ahead and do the same to them. Once I found someone that I couldn't catch, I just chased them as if they stole something. I'd either catch them, or I'd chase them all the way to the finish line. I've run a 26:58, and a 25:48 that way.
I'd love to keep setting PR's, and I'm sure with my continued training and weight loss I should. I just wonder if I should stick with this strategy until I'm a bit more experienced, or if there is a pacing strategy that would be more effective for even a runner like myself with only 3 - 5k's, 1 - HM and a couple of Warrior Dash's. I know a lot of people use Garmin's and stuff, but I feel like a 5K is over so quick that I don't think my mind could even comprehend the data that it would give me.
Improvements
Weight 100 pounds lost
5K 31:02 Sept. 2012 / 23:36 Sept. 2013 (Same Course)
10K 48:59 April 2013
HM 2:03:56 Nov. 2012 / 1:46:50 March 2013
MARATHON 3:57:33 Nov. 2013
Chief Unicorn Officer
There is definitely nothing wrong with that strategy (it's what I do in long races like HM's, which I don't train specifically for, so I just wing them) but I feel like once you get down to your absolute potential, you might need to focus more on the numbers--for me, I RACE-race every race, and I just simply have nothing left at the end, so like, if I employed that strategy from the beginning I could easily get trapped into going too fast. Particularly being a guy, I think that you probably have a ton of potential left to drop your time down, and you may get to the point where you have to watch the numbers more carefully. My strategy now is to have a pre-planned goal in mind and I do use my Garmin to stay on pace from the very beginning (if I go out too fast in even the first quarter mile, I'm toast). But for where you are right now, I think it's a good strategy to keep you head in the game, stay focused, and run hard the whole race.
Mile 5:49 - 5K 19:58 - 10K 43:06 - HM 1:36:54
Trail Monster
Well a 25:48 is around 8:18 per mile. A Garmin will give you a split every mile or some races have a clock or someone calling out the time at each mile marker. Next time you could go for 8:05 or 8:10 per mile and try to run even-ish splits. Or you can keep doing it your way. I wouldn't say one is better than the other. I just prefer to be able to have a goal pace and monitor how close I am to that. E.G., Knowing that I want to hit mile 1 at 7:55, mile 2 at 15:50, and mile 3 at 23:45 eliminates the math portion and gives me a solid goal.
2013 races:
3/17 Shamrock Marathon
4/20 North Coast 24 Hour
7/27 Burning RIver 100M
8/24 Baker 50M
10/5 Oil Creek (distance to be determined)
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Brands I Heart:
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Altra Zero Drop
Gauging that first mile is what would concern me with an electronic device. That, and making the adjustment if you're off and possibly over adjusting.
I think that might come with experience. I'm definitely a rookie.
It definitely comes with experience. I've run 45 5k's so far and I'm still learning but now that I know what my 5k effort feels like for each mile I go by that and just double check at the mile markers. I try to stay within 8-10 seconds of my goal for each mile and speed up in the last half if I feel I can.
That's good to know. I know what my 5K pace feels like, and it is AAAAHHHHH....I'M RUNNNIIINNGG!!!!
Mile 1 - Run faster than you think it is possible for you to run for 3 miles.
Mile 2 - Cuss the race director who obviously doesn't know how to measure a mile because you have run way, way, way more than a mile and you still haven't seen the damn mile marker.
Mile 3 - Swear to the running gods you'll never race again if they'll just make the pain stop.
Mile 3.1 - Pass that SOB before you get in the chute.
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
Mile 1 - Run faster than you think it is possible for you to run for 3 miles. Mile 2 - Cuss the race director who obviously doesn't know how to measure a mile because you have run way, way, way more than a mile and you still haven't seen the damn mile marker. Mile 3 - Swear to the running gods you'll never race again if they'll just make the pain stop. Mile 3.1 - Pass that SOB before you get in the chute.
This doesn't work for me. I think this is where people who excel at distance (or prefer distance) may be different. For me it's more like:
Run the first mile at intended pace, feel like heart will hammer out of chest and lungs may burst
Second mile I start to warm up and think, "Okay, I can do this!"
Third mile I start to wonder why I'm doing another 5k. I hate these things! My legs are turning to lead. I'd rather run an ultra! etc. all go through my head.
Somewhere between 2.5 and the finish I start to play games. "Don't let this dude pass you!" "Catch the chick with the funny gait." "Pass the one who's got a side stitch before they recover!" Sometimes the distraction from my own pain is the only thing that keeps me going to the finish.
Love that strategy!
Current PRs:
5K: 27:06 (11/10/12) | 5M: 44:03 (6/1/13) | 10K: 1:00:48 (7/4/12)
15K: 1:27:53 (3/17/13) | 10M: 1:30:25 (4/13/13) | HM: 1:59:55 (4/28/13)
Next race: Ashland 4th of July 10K
Yeah, I like LTH's strategy as well.
That sounds about right.
Are we there, yet?
Let's try to relate this to something we might actually be familiar with:
Mile 1: Hey, this is just like the beginning of a good interval workout, but when did intervals change from 800m to a mile.
Mile 2: Ugh, this feels like the last couple intervals in that workout. Shuoldn't we be done soon?
Mile 3: I know that we should feel like we could run another interval or two after at the end of a workout, but no one told me it would feel like this.
The last stretch: I can see the finish! It's almost over! Damn, I can't let that 66 yo man outkick me.
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.
levitation specialist
For me, in my "plans scheme", it goes:
Mile 1: go out at pre planned pace(about 15-20 secs faster than training 5k runs)
Mile 2: hold pace.
Mile 3: hold pace.
last bit: sprint with all you've got left.
In reality:
Mile 1: run faster than every other girl on the course. Think "Is this me, wow, I am frickin flying! I had no idea I could run this fast!
(Looks at watch and gets scared at the number she sees, it is WAYYYYY too fast!)
Mile 2: pace slows slightly, thinks "Hold on, just hold on!"
Mile 3: pace slows more, watches helplessly as a few girls pass me. I can't go any faster and am mad at myself.
last bit: sprint is more like a sputter.
I can't chase people and reel them in, or at least I haven't ever tried really. My strategy this far has been to get out in front early and make people work for it. I tend to know my placing from the first 1/4 mile and then subtract from there as girls pass me(if they do, the last 3 races I placed 3rd).
But before the race, I have a plan that isn't as aggressive as my actual non plan. I worry about this in a longer race. I might have to tie my shoes together for the first few miles in my marathon so I don't try and run like I can place 3rd when there is no way I can in a longer race.
Longer races don't let you fake your ability like short ones do.
Super B****
This sounds like exactly what I do, only I don't do it consciously... I've tried starting out slower so the second mile sucks less, but it never works. I've accepted that the second mile is meant to be hated. (The third one doesn't feel quite as bad because I'm under some sort of illusion that I'm "almost there." Ha!)
chasing the impossible
because i never shut up ... i blog
I've run two 5k's so far. In my first one (26:22), my plan was to run the whole thing comfortably hard as if it were a tempo run. I really just wanted to get a feel for the distance. In my second (25:15), I lined up in the middle of the fastest group and used them to help me get a fast start. My plan was to pick up the intensity halfway through to, hopefully, maintain my pace. I plan to use this strategy again for my next 5k. Since my endurance is/will be greater, I should be able to maintain my initial pace longer. So far, I've just been going by effort level, but I'll likely start using my Garmin more once I have more running/racing experience.
5k - 25:15 (11/18/12)
10k - 1:01:51 (2/14/15)
10mi - 1:33:18 (3/2/14)
HM - 2:06:12 (3/24/13)
Upcoming Races:
Benched until further notice. :/
Everything you need is already inside. [[Bill Bowerman]]