Sunday, May 13, 2007

5k PR: Carlsbad 5000

I have a new PR for a 5k: 19:29. Of course, I'd run only one prior 5k, so I had a 50/50 chance of doing better. Because I hadn't had a lot of time to train, I concentrated on speed work. My schedule was (and still is) track intervals on Tuesday, track or hill work on Thursday, long run Sundays.

The result is that I've improved my speed substantially. I figure I'll concentrate on being faster since I can't run as much as I'd like. The nice thing is that the 19:29 5k is an "equivalent" time for a qualifying marathon. In other words, the 5k time means I should be able to reach my goal with proper training.

The race, Carlsbad 5000, was great. The course is super-fast and by the beach. Weather conditions were almost perfect, and I'd read an article that suggested you should run your first mile a little fast when running a 5k. Kind of the perfect storm for my PR.

My wife, son and I made a weekend of it and stayed there. I love the way my family supports my races. It's nice to see them at the finish line.

The race is great for spectators because each age group/gender had a separate start time and the elites go last. That way we mere mortals can watch the really fast people. Because the course is a big "T" and runners cover the perimeter of the shape, spectators sitting near the intersection can see runners pass by three times: just after the start, right in the middle, and just before the finish. That's what we did, and we saw the women's leader miss her previous world record by a hair.

It's time for bed. But it's nice to be back. Next time I'll have to write about my shoes.

1 comment:

Matt said...

Congrats on the PR! Outstanding! I hope to PR as well in a 5K I am running next month.