can you estimate my 10K race? (Read 133 times)

ive logged in my most recent runs. if im in great condition and the weather is also great on race day, what is your prediction for my time?

im just wrapping up week 3. and my saturday runs are longer. 1st week i think i did 5.5 mi, then 6 mi, this week i plan to do 6.5 mi.

its a mesh of novice and intermediate of hal higdons plan

ETA: ive figured out how to upload my training schedule on here.

a couple more things.

i only run in one direction during my long runs for ease/time and so on the way back i end up facing 2-3 hills. im still trying to figure out the incline on them. but i usually slow down to about 4.5-5.0 mph speed. tho yesterday i let one of the hills kick my butt.

if im training on these hills, and i race on all flat or mostly flat, about how much faster can i expect to be?

also ill be unable to run my last week before my 10K race from mon-thurs) but ill be walking quite a bit 2 out of those 4 days. my schedule says to take off that fri and sat before the run on sunday.

would it be NOT good to squeeze one last run on friday? if so, what type of run would be best/how far? i know im supposed to taper that week but i just will not be able to run at all expect FRI and SAT before the race, i defly do not want to run SAT before the race.

should i just except it? not sure how to adjust the plan for that week and or how important it is to taper vs not running much.

Thanks. Good idea. I’m assuming that’s not the same as my long runs which are, at this point, at and above 10k...?

Long runs, easy effort.   Time trial, moderate to hard.  Don't push it so hard that you risk injury or training disruption.

I also say no taper.  If you have too much time off, you will bust off the starting line too fast.

This is your first race ever, right? You have practically nothing to go on, but that's okay; in fact, it's very cool to find out what you can do in your first race. Don't worry about it. Personally, I wouldn't run a time trial; for me, every race is my time trial. After the race, you'll have a lot of data and a lot to think about. At the race just start out at a pace you think you can maintain for six miles, and then maintain it. You might (probably will) judge it wrong one way or the other, but that's how you learn. Have fun! I bet you'll surprise yourself.

I think you can break one hour, but if you don't, you have plenty of future races to improve.  Have fun!

Yes first race ever. Nervous and worried I’ll be “slow.” I’m hoping to be just under 60 min. My outdoor runs have hills so I’m hoping that’ll help in my flat race course. And my treadmill runs are a bit faster...but still probably over 60 min...so...

i don’t know why I care so much about time. Maybe bc this is “official” and the times will be listed on a race results page forever within the community. I don’t care much about other things I do publicly but care about being fast.

 

Thank you

Something which helped me a lot in my first 10k was lining up for the race near the back of the pack. I had only run 5k's previously and knew I would go out too fast. Starting at the back will be crowded with slow runners which will intentionally keep you slow to start and it will feel motivating as you pass slower people. My strategy was running the first 2 miles at long run pace and then picking up the pace a bit during miles 3 & 4. When you have less than 2 miles left, try pushing yourself and focus on a fast finish.

For your first long race, you will have a decent time anyway by being smart in your pacing. You want to end the race with lots of energy with the motivation of "that felt great and I know I can go faster next time". Starting out too fast and finishing with "holy crap that really sucked", it is going to kill your motivation. Running and training to run long races is a mental game and you will be able to improve drastically over time by keeping yourself motivated.

If someone you know is going to criticize your time for your first 10k, you need to get a new friend. I have shaved off over 8 minutes from my first 10k in less than a year and I love to be able to look back at old official race times to see how far I have progressed. Don't focus on your time, focus on feeling motivated.

I’m competing in an athletic setting.

It's pretty special being able to call yourself an athlete, isn't it?

I think you need to not care what other people might think about you.