Welcome and introductions!

davemunger
davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
Hi everyone,

I'm planning rededicating myself to shorter road races in the coming year, and I figured there must be other MFPers who are also interested in improving their 5K times.

Let's use this thread to get to know each other -- share as much as you would like about your running story and what you hope to accomplish this year!
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Replies

  • _Josee_
    _Josee_ Posts: 625 Member
    Hi everyone!

    I'm a relatively new runner (My C25K anniversary was 2 weeks ago..)... I'm actually training for my first marathon (May 25th) but I'm very competitive and want to get faster... at any distance!

    My current 5K PR (23:00.2) is from 2 weeks ago (on a VERY windy day!) and I'm ready to get my revenge in a month, on the same course! I'm hoping to shave that 0.3 seconds to get a least a sub 23:00 lol

    Long term I want to get my 5K time around 21:00.. Don't know yet if it's achievable, but I will try :) I find that the more I increase my weekly mileage, the faster I get! I also know that I can't expect to improve my PR by 5min each time I race from now on... lol

    Looking forward to see what others goals are :)
  • ZenInTexas
    ZenInTexas Posts: 781 Member
    Well I already know you guys but hi anyway! :tongue: I ran a 5k last fall and got a time of 21:50. Sadly the course measured short so I can't accept this as a legitimite PR. I am running a 5k in May that I would love to be able to really do a 21:50 on. And I want to be faster at all distances, from the mile to the marathon. I'm also very competitive and I want to win a women's overall prize. :smile:
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    Doug :)

    My first 5K in 2010 was around 28min, and when I picked up running again a year ago, I was running around 24-25. Current PR is 20:10. Goal this year is simply to break 20 and I've put ~600mi on since my PR.
  • EEfromJersey
    EEfromJersey Posts: 219 Member
    I'm in on this with the race season under way, I plan on doing mostly 5k's sprinkled in with some 10k's after this weekends HM and my goal is to one again get under 8min miles...so here we go!
  • tappae
    tappae Posts: 568 Member
    It's 6 weeks until the anniversary of my 5K PR (22:43). This will be my last race before a 16-week training block aiming to peak for new PRs in the mile and the 5K in September. I'm about 35 pounds heavier than I was when I set that PR and was only able to manage an average of 8:30 on a 5 mile race on Sunday. I'm thinking that with 6 weeks of running (and a little weight loss), the best I could hope for is 7:45 pace (24:00 or so). If I can get the weight off by September, though, I'm sure I could PR at that one.
  • zornig
    zornig Posts: 336 Member
    I have been running 2 5Ks per week (as training runs) with the goal of getting my 5K time under 30 minutes. Yesterday I finally achieved my goal and completed a 5K training run in 29:20. I'd like to be able to consistently complete 5K under 30, and I'd also like to bring my 10K time down to 60 minutes (currently my 10K PR is 1:06.35).
  • RunnerElizabeth
    RunnerElizabeth Posts: 1,091 Member
    This is exactly my current goal. I've got a 5k I'm training for right now that is on April 19th, my birthday! How cool would it be to get a pr on my birthday!? In 2012, I was running 5k in about 40 minutes. My current pr is 26:04 and I'm shooting for 24:30. The challenge of this race is that it is the 5k associated with the Boston marathon. Last year, it was insane with about 5000 runners on the city streets. This year, because everyone wants to be a part of running in Boston on marathon weekend, the field was expanded to 10000. Scary!
  • MIRunnerMom
    MIRunnerMom Posts: 22 Member
    I'm at the tail end of my third half marathon training cycle in a year. I love distance running, but it's wearing on me a little bit. Last May I ran a 25:45 5k PR, and my goal is to beat that. I'm not a fast runner, but I am getting faster. I can hit my paces in training, but then when it comes to races, I am too much in my head and fail to reach my goals. I am doing one 5k May 31st and another on June 7th.
    Looking forward to a speedy summer, especially after doing all of my training outside in the Michigan winter!
  • PinkNinjaLaura
    PinkNinjaLaura Posts: 3,202 Member
    Wow. Well I'm very, very slow compared to the rest of you. I've been running for 11 months. I've only run one 5K race start to finish, August last year, and my time was 35:24. I was hoping for "around 35" so I was happy with my time. Mostly I just wanted to run the entire thing. I did one 5K after that where I started out way too fast and ended up walking most of the final mile (except the final few blocks to the finish line), and my final 5K last year I did with a friend and we went at her pace. I've never run a 10K race, but am registered for my first half in June.
  • lorierin22
    lorierin22 Posts: 432 Member
    Hi :) I'm Lori. I've been running for about 2 years. I did several 5Ks, but was not able to run one all the way through until Sept. 2012. My time was 30:29. I'm not sure what happened, but that would remain my p/r for several months. I finally broke 30 last April with a time of 29:23 on an extremely flat course. I wasn't running consistently, even when training for my half and I wasn't able to get below 30 again for the next several months. Then this year I ran a 30:15 in February and was determined to prove my sub 30 was not a fluke, so I started trying to run more consistently (per advise from the long distance running group) and acheived my new pr earlier this month 28:18! I was stunned. A sub 28 has been my lifetime goal. Now it is my new goal for before the end of this year :) Looking forward to insight from all of you speedy runners! :)
  • joedfro
    joedfro Posts: 270
    Hello..I'm John

    Started running late August/early Septemberish? Ran my first and only 5k last November @ 25:58... I have one coming up on April 13th, that I am hoping to do better in.

    So I'm anxious to see the advice and sharing on how to get faster.
  • davemunger
    davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
    I guess I should share my story too! I started getting serious about running roughly 4 and a half years ago, when I joined a running group. They encouraged me to run a marathon, which I did in 2011. After a couple more marathons, I qualified for Boston, and ran Boston in 2013.

    But while my marathon times weren't improving, I was getting steadily better at 5Ks and 10Ks.

    My 5K PR improved from 23:55 to 18:03. Then last fall I got really serious about speed and improved to 17:49 in the 5K. It was getting harder and harder to shave seconds off my time, and so I shifted focus to ultra-marathons. I will be running my first 50-mile race in two days. But while this is an interesting challenge, it's showed me that my real passion is in the shorter distances, so after I complete the 50-miler, I want to go back to trying to get fast.

    I'm looking to PR again in the 5K next fall, and to bring my 10K PR down as well. Hope you all will join me for the ride!
  • butreally12
    butreally12 Posts: 67 Member
    Wow, you guys are all so speedy!!! I'm so incredibly impressed!

    I started "running" a little over a year ago. I know that any running is running; but really, i was barely shuffling my feet. Anyway, I just did my first half marathon (finished in 2:02) and loved it, but I want to focus on the 5k again because I love it even more!

    My current 5k PR is 25:15, though I'm not convinced the course wasn't a bit short... I'm aiming for somewhere in the 24:00's, though like someone said up there, I know it will get harder and harder to decrease my time!

    I'd love some new friends!
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    My only race so far was a 10K done in 58:01 last month. I have a half coming up in a couple weeks. I also plan to run at a local marathon in December.
  • romyhorse
    romyhorse Posts: 694 Member
    Hello..I'm John

    And we've all been calling you Joe, lol!

    I haven't run a 5k race yet, my fastest run in training is around 33 minutes. I ran a 10k back in September in 67 minutes, which has been my only race since graduating c25k back in May last year. I have entered a virtual 5k next month and am hoping to get a PB, I'm getting my husband to pace me as he is a much faster runner.
  • SecretAgent27
    SecretAgent27 Posts: 57 Member
    I started running around the end of January and I'm running my first 5K on Saturday. My main goal in running is mostly weight loss at this point. The only time I've really successfully lost weight was when I was running, but back then I didn't really know how to train and I also wasn't wearing the right shoes and ended up with some foot and knee pain that forced me to stop. Anyway, I wanted to start doing some racing because I wanted to have some other goal, some other measure of progress, besides weight loss. I've lost 10 lbs, still have 20 to go, but then what? I don't want to work out just to work out and I think that getting into racing would provide the motivation for me to continue being physically active for years (decades) to come.

    So not knowing where to start, I set an initial goal of simply finishing in under 30 minutes. But a month in, after looking at my training paces and seeing how well I was doing, I've bumped it up to about 27:30. I've been running 5 days a week. I routinely do at least 3.1 miles in 33-35 minutes at an easy pace and have gotten up to 7 miles on my long run at the same pace without my heart rate getting too high. My last run in the warmup for the race on Wednesday I just did 2 miles but did it at goal pace and everything felt really good. I feel pretty confident about reaching my mark and am somewhat optimistic that I might exceed it.
  • sulyha
    sulyha Posts: 119 Member
    Hi All,
    I am at work right now on a short break, so I don't have time to read everyones' posts, but will when I am home. After a lifetime of hating running, I did C25K in 2011 and have been running ever since.

    The longest I've done is a half-marathon. The fastest I've done is a 5K in under 27 minutes. I think my favorite distance is 10k. My next race is 4.1 miles as part of a sprint triathlon in May, but I'll probably sign up for a 5k held in late April.

    Last summer I backed off with my running after having IT Band problems that stopped me in my tracks after a few miles. Went to physical therapy and once I got that all worked out, pulled a calf muscle (not running) in September 2013. Did rehab through December and have been SLOWLY returning to running since then. Now that spring is coming, I want to start increasing mileage with long runs. Currently I am not doing long runs, but am running 3-4 miles several times per week.

    I'm not sure what my goal is right now. Normally it would be to improve my 5k time to under 26 minutes, but with the injuries, I don't want to push too hard. I joined this group to give and receive running support and get some advice from more seasoned runners.
  • audram420
    audram420 Posts: 838 Member
    Hey everyone. I'm a very slow runner, but since discovering a foam roller for calves, I'm actually getting a bit faster...hahaha! Where has this thing been all my life?? I'd love any tips and tricks, so send them my way!
  • joedfro
    joedfro Posts: 270
    Hello..I'm John

    And we've all been calling you Joe, lol!

    I haven't run a 5k race yet, my fastest run in training is around 33 minutes. I ran a 10k back in September in 67 minutes, which has been my only race since graduating c25k back in May last year. I have entered a virtual 5k next month and am hoping to get a PB, I'm getting my husband to pace me as he is a much faster runner.

    I think pinkstp started calling me joe and i thought what the heck and just rolled with it :)
  • sweetcurlz67
    sweetcurlz67 Posts: 1,168 Member
    WOW!!! You are all AMAZING!!!

    I'm really slow. I actually run/walk all my races. I've done several 5k's, 10k, & 15k. Began doing them regularly on July 4, 2012. Was going to do my first half marathon this past February, however, a yucky cold came over me the weekend of the race. boooo!!!! There will be more!!! ;)