After a 6-month hiatus due to COVID, I finally started running again in September, 2020. It took me 6 months of very slow progress (including a 2 week pause while quarantining in NISER) to build up to a mileage of around 25 KM a week. I decided to use this 8-week beginner 5 KM plan to cap this running season. I ended up running the distance in 27:10 on the 17th of April - not as good as by PB (26:46) from 18 months back, but much better than I expected. Here’s my race report.
Race Information
- What? The “Get Back to Running, Mate” Solo Race.
- When? April 17th, 2021.
- How Far? 5 KM.
- Where? NISER, Bhubaneswar.
- Finish Time: 27:10.
Goals
- Best Case: 27:30.
- Great Outcome: 30:00.
- Very Attainable: 32:00.
Training
I estimated my 5 KM time at the beginning of my plan to be somewhere around 35 minutes. The training plan had the following structure on a typical week: two workout days, one long run and two easy runs. The long runs were not very long, to be honest - they maxed out at 10 KM. I ran my easy runs and long runs at a very comfortable 8:20 per KM pace. Embedded into the plan were 1 mile and 2 mile race efforts on the third and the sixth week respectively. I ran the 1 mile in 8:26 (5:14 per KM) and the 2 miles in 17:13 (5:21 per KM). Overall, the plan went along without any major speed bumps. I missed two days of running in total through the course of the 8 weeks. Both because of last minute grocery shopping plans. Sigh.
My training philosophy this time around was very simple - don’t get injured. I did this by making easy days super easy. I was looking back at my runs which were part of my half marathon training plan and realized that I averaged a breezy 6:20 per KM pace. For my easy runs. While planning on running the half at 6:10 per KM. No wonder my shins were screaming at me for the last couple of weeks of that plan.
Race
Race day was nothing special. Up at 5:20 am, out of the door at 5:45 am, warmed up in 15 minutes, and at the “start line” at 6 am. The “race plan” was straightforward - even 5:30 per KM splits. I was a little nervous when I started out and realized that I was running at 4:15 per KM pace. Thankfully, it only took me a couple of minutes to settle into the pace I wanted to be at. The first couple of kilometers were uneventful. The third kilometer was where things started getting a little harder. I got stitches on the right side of my abdomen about three-fourths into this kilometer and it accompanied me to the very end. After the first three kilometers, I was pretty much perfectly on pace. The last two kilometers were more of a blur. Every time my pace started dropping, I saw someone I knew and picked up the pace again. I had somehow managed to run these two kilometers in 10:40, shaving almost 20s off my goal time.
Splits
- 0 - 1 KM: 5:29.4.
- 1 - 2 KM: 5:28.8.
- 2 - 3 KM: 5:30.9.
- 3 - 4 KM: 5:24.0.
- 4 - 5 KM: 5:17.8.
Finish Time: 27:10.3.
This 16s negative split makes me wonder if I could have run the first half a little quicker. Maybe a 27:05 was there for my taking?
What’s Next?
Not sure, to be honest. The 5 KM PB looks very inviting. As does getting back to longer distances. As does focusing on strength and sidelining running for a bit. I’ll decide after this week of doing very little physical activity recovery.