I ran 5 miles today and did my second attempt at simulating a 5K race. I followed Bruce's suggestion to do it in one-mile segments with a recovery between miles. I walked for half a mile for recovery. My laps were as follows.
Mile 1 - 10:32
Mile 2 - 9: 59
Mile 3 - 9:43
I timed the last half-mile at 9:24.
I didn't carry any water, and I took no walking breaks during the mile. Except for my hat instead of a sweat band, I was wearing what I will run with on September 22. Another difference between today and the race is that today was hotter (mid 80s (F) ) while the race will probably be in the mid 40s. I would like to break 30 minutes for the race, and that will require a 9:40 pace. I'm hoping that with the cooler temperature and the adrenalin factor I can do 9 minute miles which will just break 28 minutes.
I could tell that today wasn't my best day. I only had a one-day rest since I ran Wednesday evening, and I usually have a two-day rest before my Saturday runs. I ran today instead of tomorrow because I'll be gone all day tomorrow.
I'm awfully impressed with the progress you've been making recently, Allen. Proof that life (and running) is all about learning and improving, a little at at time.
ReplyDeleteContinued success to you! I'm eager to hear how you fare on your 5K in three weeks.
Hi Angie, We're both making good progress. Your new shoes seem to be working out, and soon you'll have your second marathon under your belt.
ReplyDeleteYour mile splits are very impressive, even when you weren't in your best form! The negative splits will help your mindset during race day!!
ReplyDeleteHi Bruce,
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm pleased with my progress during the past year. I'm about a minute to a minute and a half faster per mile during my training runs than I was last year at this time.
Sometimes I warm up within the first half mile, and other times I take 1, 2, or 3 miles to warm up. I'm not sure why my body behaves that way, but my splits yesterday illustrate what I could tell from listening to my body, that I needed the longer distance to warm up. Before I started the splits, I did a slow jog/walk for a little over a mile to begin the warm up.
Yup, I find that the shorter and intense distances require even more of a warm up than my LSD runs. As usual, I don't need to tell YOU about listening to your body as you're a MASTER at self appraisals.
ReplyDeleteA minute to a minute and a half improvement per mile is HUGE!! Shucks I'd be happy with a 20 second per mile improvement.