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5K on sunday and looking for a PR

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_Josee_
_Josee_ Posts: 625 Member
in Social Groups
Hi guys!
Soooooo as the title say, I'm running a 5K sunday morning and I want a PR.

Last week I did a tempo run and I mixed up my paces and ended up running it too fast. But it made me wonder... I ran 4 x 5 minutes (0.7 miles) @ 7:10 with 1 minute of complete rest between each repetition. It was hard, but I was able to maintain the pace for each rep.

My questions are:
-Do you guys think I could run 7:10 for the 5K ? That would give me a time of around 22:15.
-Could I go even more agressively and pace myself at 7:00 aiming for a time of around 21:45 ?

My current PR is 23:00 flat. It was done back in march in VERY windy conditions. I know that I have a better 5K in me.

Any thoughts and advices and opinions are very welcomed :)

Josée
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Replies

  • ZenInTexas
    ZenInTexas Posts: 781 Member
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    I am no expert, obviously. But we have similar 5k PR's and I was just thinking about this this morning if I were to do another what would my strategy be. I would probably try to go out at a 7:10 and do even splits. However, if the conditions were perfect and I was feeling good I might try for 7's. What is the weather supposed to be like and what is the course like for your race?
  • timeasterday
    timeasterday Posts: 1,368 Member
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    I would start out at 7:10 for at least half a mile and see how that feels. Pick up to 7:00 in the 2nd mile then push it under 7:00 for the last mile, giving it all you got towards the end. That way you still might average 7:00 but you'll have a little gas left in the tank for the finish. If you start out too aggressively you may poop out later.
  • _Josee_
    _Josee_ Posts: 625 Member
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    I am no expert, obviously. But we have similar 5k PR's and I was just thinking about this this morning if I were to do another what would my strategy be. I would probably try to go out at a 7:10 and do even splits. However, if the conditions were perfect and I was feeling good I might try for 7's. What is the weather supposed to be like and what is the course like for your race?

    The course is a pretty flat out and back.
    Weather is supposed to be sunny, no wind and around 55 at the time of the race. So pretty ideal!

    This is exactly why I'm wondering if I could push a bit.
  • ZenInTexas
    ZenInTexas Posts: 781 Member
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    I am no expert, obviously. But we have similar 5k PR's and I was just thinking about this this morning if I were to do another what would my strategy be. I would probably try to go out at a 7:10 and do even splits. However, if the conditions were perfect and I was feeling good I might try for 7's. What is the weather supposed to be like and what is the course like for your race?

    The course is a pretty flat out and back.
    Weather is supposed to be sunny, no wind and around 55 at the time of the race. So pretty ideal!

    This is exactly why I'm wondering if I could push a bit.

    That sounds perfect!!!
  • iwannabinnarnia
    iwannabinnarnia Posts: 179 Member
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    I really don't have any words of wisdom or advice for you.. just wanted to wish you good luck! Have a great race! If your body feels up to it go ahead and push. I'm doing a 5k on Saturday and I'm not expecting to do well. I've not 'trained' in about 2 weeks due to things going on in my life.. so I plan to walk most of the race. I'm hoping to finish in around 40 minutes.
  • saskie78
    saskie78 Posts: 237 Member
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    Good luck Josée!
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
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    Executing a perfect 5K is REALLY hard. No matter what, you are probably going to second guess yourself on some portion of it.

    You are definitely in a position to PR based on the fitness gained from marathon training. The only question here is by how much.

    I think I would go conservative for the first mile and then really try to lay the hammer down. The second mile is usually the hardest to maintain a consistent pace, so by going easy in the first mile, you should be able to run negative splits for the last two. If your conservative approach leaves you with gas in the tank, you can really bring it home strong. I'm looking forward to seeing how much time you chop off your old PR. :)
  • davemunger
    davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
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    I agree with Carson that you are in shape to run a strong pace. But I disagree that you should take it easy the first mile. It's just too short a race to mess around with that. Go out at a solid pace. You may need to hold back some keep your pace under 7:00/mile, but I would not go slower than 7:10. You will start to feel like you are dying in Mile 2. Just keep it up. Before you know it, you'll be in Mile 3, nearly done! You will get inspiration / motivation from the runners still heading out. Then just hang on to the finish! You can do it!
  • saskie78
    saskie78 Posts: 237 Member
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    I hate when Dave and Carson disagree. It leaves me lost as to what to do! ;)
  • _Josee_
    _Josee_ Posts: 625 Member
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    I hate when Dave and Carson disagree. It leaves me lost as to what to do! ;)

    hahaha you and me both!
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    I hate when Dave and Carson disagree. It leaves me lost as to what to do! ;)

    I'm not sure that they did.
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
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    Pacing strategy-wise, I'm with Dave, simply because it's an out-and-back. Those suck and are the worst. Your mile 2 is probably going to have a dip because you're going to lose momentum depending on how sharp the turn is. I've only seen hairpin turns on cones.
  • EEfromJersey
    EEfromJersey Posts: 219 Member
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    So seems like the only question is to start fast or hold back on the first mile I say see how you feel at start time like Dave said it's a short run and with the fitness I've seen from you I think PR is probably a sure thing my only advice would be remember the shorter the race the longer the warm up, get a good warm up at varied pacing to get those legs going...Good luck on Sunday!
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
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    I hate 5Ks for this reason. Only thing I have to offer is to make sure you have a good warmup. Maybe jog a mile before the race.
  • _Josee_
    _Josee_ Posts: 625 Member
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    Thanks everyone :smile:

    Off course I'm not heading out to run a 7:00 - 7:10 pace without warming up :laugh:
    2 miles jog + some drills + some strides. I have a routine that works well for me on speedwork days.
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
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    Ha! We don't disagree. I was thinking along the same lines as Dave. I think 7:00 to 7:05 for the first mile would be taking it easy. I see her running something like 7:05, 7:01, 6:57, :33.

    :)
  • PeteWhoLikesToRunAlot
    PeteWhoLikesToRunAlot Posts: 596 Member
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    Even if I had advice that you didn't already know, I wouldn't give it to you. I don't want you dusting my current PR :)
  • PeteWhoLikesToRunAlot
    PeteWhoLikesToRunAlot Posts: 596 Member
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    Good call by Carson & Dave (duh) - 5K is way too short to go out "easy", not enough time to make up for a slow start. A good effort at 7:05-7:10 is what you want to target for your first mile. As you warm up and get loose, you should be able to drop well below 7:00 by the end.
  • saskie78
    saskie78 Posts: 237 Member
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    Ha! We don't disagree. I was thinking along the same lines as Dave. I think 7:00 to 7:05 for the first mile would be taking it easy. I see her running something like 7:05, 7:01, 6:57, :33.

    :)

    I'm going to follow your advice too. Except I'm going to change all those ugly "7s" to 8s and the "6s" to 7s :)
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
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    I, too, have a 5K coming up on Sunday. Fast, flat out and back. I've not done much specific training for running that pace, so we'll see what happens.

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