Twitter 5K, a New PR

Over all Place: 187 of 376
Age Group Place: 57 of 75
Time: 28:43
Pace: 9:16

Saturday, January 21st was my first ever 5k race. It was a virtual race, but you still go and record your times. I am amazed as to how many over the world did it, even one of my Filipino friends, Roelle, from daytripped running. I did mine on the treadmill as weather conditions did not allow for safe road running or running anywhere for that matter. (I do not like winter time really). I have been doing a lot of treadmill running to get back into shape and lose weight. Before I go off on a tangent, Ill stick to the race. So I started with a speed setting of 6.6 mph as I remember doing some tempo runs at around 6.2 mph. The first mile was interestingly pretty fast clocking a sub 9 minute mile, which I haven't ran in a couple of months on any kind of run. Should I have started so fast? (fast being relative). The second mile I had to slow it down a bit but not much, as I did not dare go under 6 mph. The last mile was like a progressive tempo run and a mad dash the last .1 miles with speed maxed out at 8 mph. I heard, on marathontalk I believe, that for a 5 and 10k, it SHOULD feel uncomfortable being the beginning to the end, but not like an all out sprint. Pacing for a 5k is rather different for me as I am use to longer distance races were a walk break here and there isn't so bad. Way different mindset for the 5k. Reminds me of when I ran the mile in high school. lol. Burn rubber until the end. All in all, it was a very good race. My end time was 28:43 with an average mile pace of 9:16. I actually learned a lot. The right pace starting off is very crucial to the performance. I didn't actually do too bad, considering my current fitness. With faster 5k and 10k times, I would suspect that my half and full marathon times should come down. I will be doing another 5k in 2 weeks time called the Winter Sucks 5k. Doing this recent 5k has allowed me to gauge were my fitness is, and what my strengths and weaknesses are. Now I know what my 5k pace is. lol. Next time I hope to go under 28 minutes. If I lose another 5 pounds and put in some training, that is a pretty obtainable goal. We will see. Until then,.............. gotta run!