Tag Archives: 5K

2015 Running Year in Review

Leave a reply

My general goal of any year is to hit 1000 miles in the year, and when I took a peek to write my 2015 running year in review I was at 1,226.5 miles, not too shabby! I also had a period of sadly being locked out of my blog so I missed getting in some race recaps and various training insights and epiphanies. In addition to having some fast races to close out the year, perhaps the most significant moment of this year was my decision to hire a coach. We started Dec. 1 and the next six months of running are all about working Coach’s plan. But before we look ahead, some running moments of this year.

Continue reading →

The Art & Science of Race Selection

Leave a reply

I spend a lot of my time while running thinking about racing. Even when I’m not training for a specific race, I’m thinking about racing. I think about the “perfect” race. I think about what it would take to win a race (in my age group). I think about races of different distances and set crazy stretch goals for them quickly followed by aggressive goals and truly realistic goals. When I went about thinking about my race plan for 2014 I realized there is probably an art and science to race selection. Continue reading →

Back-to-Back Races: 5K to 10K

Leave a reply

On our flight home from the Cooper River Bridge Run I was still on such a high from my 10k time that I decided to register for a local 10k to see if I could maintain that performance. The next opportunity I could find was the Father’s Day Dawson’s 10k in Severna Park which is a race I’ve wanted to do for a few years now. I hit submit on the registration form and had the June 16 race on my calendar. I also had my eye on a few 5k races, two of which I did last year. The first 5k in June I  skipped but weather and timing was looking perfect for the second annual Run Awake 5k…except it was June 15, the day before the 10k. I registered anyway. Continue reading →

Run Awake 5k for Achon Uganda Children’s Fund

Leave a reply

This spring I went on the hunt for as many 5ks as I could find for my return to racing post-pregnancy. The earliest one I could find, that I thought I would be ready for was the Run Awake 5k in Annapolis, MD. As I think is often the case with me, I set out to run and race for selfish reasons and ultimately realize there are so many more reasons to run beyond the “because I like to” reason. The Run Awake 5k put me in my place pretty quickly for two reasons. 1. The story behind the race and the Achon Uganda Children’s Fund where 100% of proceeds went to is the type of human kindness story that is motivating, inspiring and makes you grateful for what you have. And 2. Despite having only been ‘back to running’ for a few weeks I stupidly thought that I might be able to hit a fast pace like I had pre-pregnancy.  Continue reading →

Race Recap: 5k & Marathon Weekend–St. Patrick’s 5k

Leave a reply

A sure sign that spring is here is when weekends start filling up with races. In my case, it just so happened that I had back-to-back races in one weekend. I have had weekends where each weekend I’m racing but never before I had done one event on Saturday immediately followed by an event on Sunday. Though this was not my original intention, I’ll start off by saying that it resulted in two PRs so I’m not complaining! How did this happen and what were the races you wonder? Continue reading →

Setting & Adjusting the Race Pace Goal

2 Replies

When I first started doing running races, I raced to participate, to experience the race, and that was about it. Let me first say that there is absolutely nothing wrong in racing with that mindset. My perception of racing started to change as I learned more about running, form, training techniques and drills, and my own potential. My perception of races also started to change the first time I adopted a real training plan which was for my first half marathon in October 2008.

I distinctly recall that race being the first time I set a hard goal that I hoped to achieve. For that run my goal was to finish under two hours, which I just barely did. That race pretty much set the tone for how I’ve been running, training, and racing which is goal-oriented. Continue reading →

Seashore Striders’ St. Patrick’s Day 5K

5 Replies

March 13th was the third annual St. Patrick’s Day 5K run and walk put on by the Seashore Striders in Denton, MD. The race is an event centered around the community and supports the Caroline Human Services Council which provides programs for children and youth in Caroline County. I was signed up for the 5k along with friends and colleagues from Benchworks and was planning to use the race as a benchmark in my preparation for the upcoming 10K Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston.

When I originally signed up for the Bridge Run I set the goal of completing it in the 48 minute bracket in order to achieve an 8-minute pace. However, due to the triathlon training I’ve been doing, I’m only getting in three runs a week and have not dedicated as much time to speedwork as I had been planning. All of my runs have been averaging anywhere from an 8:40-9-minute pace so I was curious to see what I might be able to achieve at the 5K. Continue reading →

5K Races: Fun, Quick, & Good Practice

Leave a reply

I believe one of the first 5K races I ever did was freshman or sophomore year at college. It was probably the farthest I’d ever run and I’m positive I didn’t train. After that first 5K I continued to run, added longer distances to my work-outs, and found myself signing up for 10Ks, 10-milers, and finally half and full marathons. Now after a nine year hiatus from 5K races I’ve done two in three weeks and am loving the 5k race! Continue reading →

Race Pace vs. Training Pace

1 Reply

j0241885There are a number of training drills that call for running at 5K pace or a 10K pace. Some drills just tell you to run at your goal race pace. Though I’ve gotten into incorporating more tempo runs and speedwork into my training I still haven’t quite figured out the paces I should be shooting for in those runs. The  most I’ve taken the time to figure out is my goal time for different distances. If I took the time (and was good at math) I’m sure I could quickly figure out those different paces and times that I should be using in training.

I’ve run a consistent 9-minute mile for a long time; on longer runs I might average 9:30 and shorter runs I can usually stay under 9 minutes. These ranges are what I consider to be my “training paces.” I’d like to learn how to better use these paces during different training runs and I’d like to set more training pace goals. However, I also would like to better establish my race pace. On my recent half marathon I finally think I achieved what I could consider a race pace. Mile after mile I managed to maintain an 8:58 pace. Continue reading →