But for now! I came across a 5k in CDA in December (you know, prime PR month, right?) and thought "well that's about 8 weeks after the Hayden half marathon..." so I hunted around the internet, found the Hal Higdon Advanced 5k Training Program, and set my sights on 5k training.
For the record, when it's obvious you are an endurance athlete, and you tell people you're going to train for a 5k, the response is something like, "You have to train for that?!" Well, fair point. No, I don't have to train to make it from start to finish of a 5k. I can run 3.1 miles. So the more clarified point is "I am doing 5k specific training". Not since high school cross country have I trained specifically for a 5k race. I've done too many 5ks to count in my adult career, but always either while training for another race distance, or not training much at all. After 8 months of ironman level running (re: long, slow, short, slow, slow slow slow) I thought it would be a
'Fast' day. Easy easy runs. And still, weekend long runs!!
Since 5k training is not nearly as time consuming, and a completely different task for me, I wanted to recap the whopping 8 weeks until my race. Which, of course, in the PNW will likely be snowy and not conducive to a PR or racing. I'm just curious to see what the training does before December rolls around and I start looking at longer training again. And if I'm lucky and get a clear day, it'll be fun to see what I can do!
That said: Week 1
Mon: Planned: 3 mi easy Actual: 0 mi.
My sweet kitty Julia reached the end of the road with her battle with kidney failure, so we had to take her to the vet and comfort her on her way to rainbow bridge. There was no running.
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| An old picture of my girl Julia when she was analyzing my training plan last year |
Tues: Planned: 5x400 at mile pace Actual: 5x400 @ mile pace (2 min recovery). Total 4 mi/34:55
I ran toward the track, noticed that high school football practice was still going on, and redirected to the nearby park. There is a walking path around it, and while it's paved, and okay, flat, but not as flat as a track, it HURTS. I swear road 400s are harder than on a track. I got in a 10 minute warm up, and then set my target at 1:35 per interval (6:20 pace-I have no idea what my mile pace is?!)
My 5 splits on the path were 1:31; 1:33; 1:32; 1:29; 1:29
My abs and everything hurt so bad. Woof. Cooldown the mile back home.
Wed: Planned: Rest or Easy run Actual: Rest
I had a compass placement test for NIC to see what math/english I need to take... there was no time to run before dark.
Thurs: Planned: 30 min tempo Actual: 35 min tempo because I can't read. Total 4.35/35:01
Per the website for tempo: This is a continuous run with an easy beginning, a build-up in the middle to near 10-K race pace (or slightly slower than your pace in a 5-K), then ease back and slow down toward the end. A typical Tempo Run would begin with 5-10 minutes easy running, build to 10-15 minutes at 10-K pace, then 5-10 minutes cooling down. You can't figure out your pace on a watch doing this workout; you need to listen to your body. Tempo Runs are very useful for developing anaerobic threshold, essential for fast 5-K racing.
So I didn't really execute this per the description. I warmed up for 10 minutes, then sort of launched into the 15. I set my watch for 7:25-7:10 pace, and it was beeping at me. Mistake! I pushed hard to get into the range, and then was basically a wheezing mess for 15 minutes hovering between 7:12-7:18 pace. I'm used to my marathon tempos that were different. At one point I passed a woman wearing a t-shirt that said "Everything hurts and I'm dying". That summed it up.
Fri: Planned: Rest Actual: Easy peasy 4 (36:04/9:01 pace)
After missing both Monday and the optional Wednesday due to life, I wanted to do an easy run. And it felt great to take it super easy.
Sat: Planned: 4 mi fast Actual: 4 mi fast! 31:18/7:49 pace
The site basically says this should just be a non conversational pace, faster than normal running pace... all up for interpretation. So Jordan and I ran together, and he pushed us along with me trying not to check my watch. The last .3 or so, my stomach was super upset, and Jordan was 5 feet ahead waving at me to catch back up since he was trying to get us an average under 7:50 pace. We got it, and then he ran another mile and I ran to the bathroom.
Sun: Planned: Easy 60 min Actual: 7 miles / 60:57 / 8:42 pace
This felt pretty awesome! It was mid-60s, but the route I did had more gradual downhill on the way out, and more gradual uphill PLUS headwind on the way home. It still felt great, comfortable. I kept it easy, probably should have kept it easier, but it felt awesome. After swapping out the ortholite inserts in my Hoka Clifton 2s for the nasty old flat insoles from my Clifton 1s, my shoes have improved drastically. Which Hoka will be hearing about. Sigh...
So week one was pretty good. The speedwork and tempo were challenging and I think it'll take a little while to get a grasp on how to tempo. From reading a little more, I've seen that it should just be a slow build up, with only a few minutes at peak pace before slowing back down. I don't really have ingrained paces anymore, but it'll all come with time.
The hardest part was not to think about 'what I could do' in previous training cycles. About the fact that 15 minutes of tempo was so hard, yet I used to run 3x2 mi repeats at that pace and feel comfortable. Or that 4 mi fast was lung busting and tough, and was slower than my half marathon PR pace. I just need to focus on the forward progress, instead of 'but I used to be able to do this!'.
So that's a wrap on week 1!
Total mileage: 23.4
