I DID NOT expect to bash this kind of time out this morning, but I will absolutely take it!
I had to mark such a momentous occasion in its own dedicated post on the chain, to spread the brag a bit more widely. I'll probably get more comments on here that I will on Strava!
The Prelude
It was a perfect morning for running today. We've had quite a few of these recently, and today was just that - about 8-9 degrees this morning, dry and sunny, no wind, perfect.
I headed out to the local park at about 8.30, did a 2 KM warm up consisting of mostly running, building it up to my 'race pace', but some walking and some silly heel kicks etc.
I've found that I need a warm up of at least 10 mins, sometimes I do twenty, before hitting things at pace.
I don't know why I opted for doing 5Ks around the park rather than my usual '2 bridge' circuit finishing in the park - I think I just wanted something different, and it was such a nice day, and empty because it was quite early.
The laps of the lower loop on the park measure almost 500 metres, if you stick to the very edges (it's quite a wide path in places), so 10 laps and a bit gives you 5KM.
The Run
Anyway, I picked my starting point the actual 5K and head off, intent on running just a 'decent time' of 20 minutes something. I set my Garmin to show clock time so I couldn't see my pace.
I was a bit surprised when my first KM came up as a 4.09 pace (it flashes up every KM), but I felt fine so I just carried on, speeding up a tad, then was even more surprised when I saw 3.56 as the pace for KM 2. Only 10 days ago I was in that very same park doing 400-500 metre intervals not much faster, I remember bailing on an attempted sub 4.00 KM towards the end of that session.
Amazing what a difference 10 days can make!
3rd KM came back at 3.58, fine, but I was feeling it now. I kept saying to myself 'not a negative split', but I couldn't ignore the fact that by now I was very likely to get my 10 year 5K record, all I had to do was hold on for a couple of 4.10 KMs.
KM no 4 felt slow, and my stomach started to feel dicky, I felt a little bit sick, my breathing was all in the upper lungs, I felt like one of those people I usually overtake on lap 2 of the Park Run must feel. I'd actually settled for a time of anything under 20.30 by this point, and was even more surprised when lap 4 paced in at 4.02.
By now I had 2 laps of the park left, and I was feeling pretty minging, so I did what felt like almost jogging to the end, knowing I'd easily get under 20.30, but of course I had to do the last lap/ 300 metre sprint, though it wasn't really a sprint, just more like knees up and go slightly faster.
The final KM paced at 3.56 again. I couldn't believe. it!
Post Run Results and Cool Down
I immediately uploaded the Garmin data, checked on my phone and it looked like I'd got a pace of 4.01, but when I got back home Strava told me a better story - 3.59 pace ! I'll take the later narrative, thank you!
My 5K time was 19.53 - had that been the Park Run with the shorter circuit of 4.9KM (by my Garmin) that time may have been even faster, under today's condition, although I'm not sure because the Park Run circuit has an uphill and a downhill, so maybe that would bring by pace down slightly because it's not as even.
Whatever, it still would have been under 20 minutes.
I had a look back over my Garmin data from several years ago, I think this is my best 5K time ever, but I do seem to remember doing some 5K tread sessions at 19.30, but the treadmills a bit of a different beast, so not entirely comparable!
I did another lap to cool down, had a nice chat with a couple of people en route, everyone just generally enjoying a beautiful morning, happy days!
Here's a picture I took - you can see the nice back drop, the slope leads up to the 'upper loop', which is what I assume is the old Castle Walls' - the park is called 'Castle Green' so I'm basically running around a green where a castle used to be - river on one side, then walls on the other.
Is this increase in pace due to circuit training?
Honestly, I haven't been running that hard of late - consistently, but more like keeping things ticking over. My interval training especially has been a bit shit.
I've been building up my long runs at the wknd, but it makes no intuitive sense that these would help with my 5K time.
So that leaves me with circuit training and leg strengthening as the reason why my pace has improved so much... I've been doing 2-3 sessions, mostly 3 sessions a week for the last 5 weeks in lock down, and gradually increasing leg strengthening work - and my legs do feel stronger, it MUST be that?!?
Anyway, happy day, few lockdown beers laters for sure!
**Sources **
The spring thaw has worked wonders :D
Cheers!
Problem is I'm still sitting here tripping off the achievement, I haven't even bothered to shower yet.
I fear for the painting I had planned today.
A shower will sort you out. Painting? There's always tomorrow :)
I must say you did a great job with that my friend. By the way I like those beards, a legendary Mark! I did my morning exercise indoors with the help of the fitness app. Maybe I will run round a nearby pitch someday. Good Job💪
Hey thanks, I'm very happy!
Dead flat circuits are perfect for good times!
Congrats!!! That is a good mark!
Hey cheers! Something of a milestone I know, very happy with that!
Nothing can stop a consistent Runner.
@runningproject
Reblogged by @runningproject
...and enjoy a good recovery !BEER
Congratulations - that's amazing mate!
That's always been my target of a sub 20 min 5km, only got to 22m 40s or something in a Park Run but it's going to be a target next year. I'm running a lot now but it's more getting distance going rather than speed!
Circuit training looks like it has helped! Enjoy your beers later on!
That is an amazing achievement, must be quite exciting! Congrats! :)
Oh I am dead happy, bit tired a few hours on though TBH! Not sure how I'm going to cope with the long run tomo.
dude serious stats man! Congrats and on the way to 18.59 ;)))
Hey cheers, and I guess that is the next target, not sure that's being realistic at my age though!
Dude I totally believe you can and secretly are the next big Kenian hahahaha.
But uhhh....thats fast dude! Serious Pace!
@bingbabe will be jealous, I will tell her. She dragged me out on a 5k a few weeks ago, near the end my foot started hurting. It still hurts, I'm no runner.
Excellent tine. My best when I was 17 on the HS X-country team was 15:51 and that was a tad under 5km. Acutally it was 3 miles. But now I could only dream to break 20 minutes for 5K. Great job :)
Crikey, that is an amazing time! I bet you were thinking 'under 15'?!
Yeah I was about 90 lbs lighter. And a lot younger. And running 30 to 50 miles a week with interval training. I thought maybe that next year I could go low 15s but got injured and that was that.
Ah the injuries, that'll do it for you.
I was doing the same in my late 30s, although not those times - 4 runs a week, half marathon long run practically every week.
Then an injury in late 2012 training for 'Britain's toughest 10K' - a nice hilly race that takes place on New Years Day.
I finally entered that in 2016, 3 years after, that's how long it took me to get over that particular injury.
Never the same after though.
You need to stake more BEER (6 staked BEER allows you to call BEER one time per day)