I finally had another PR (personal record). This time it was for my 5K time. I have been so fixated on my half-marathon time that I have dismissed any improvements for 5Ks. This distance that should be the easiest for me to conquer but I still only make slow improvements.
The speed work I did to prepare for the Ragnar Relay in combination with the cold temperatures for the Running in the Pines race was a perfect formula for a PR.
My fastest 5k on record was the Valencia 5K in 2006 and that was a race that was in the pouring down rain. Many runners refused to show up. I ran fast to get out of the storm.
This time around it was legit. It was cold but it was a busy race. I ran my first mile at a pretty swift pace while passing many runners. Usually I run my first mile too fast. It always back fires on my later and I lose my steam.
Mile 2 I kept pushing on. I was maintaining my fast pace. In fact I was going faster. Should I slow down? My thoughts began to do the math “If I am this close to a PR I think to finish it”. I pushed through to the end. I found a bit of extra reserve energy to pass some runners in the last .25 mile. I sprinted across the finish.
It was hard to tell from the clock what my actual time was and my mapping tool is always incorrect. I confirmed with the race result printout that I did indeed do my personal best on this 5k.
So exciting.
I have one more race left in the series. The final race is a 10k plus 2 mile distance dare. I did the combo last year. I don’t remember my time but I do remember my focus was on finishing the 2 miler as quickly as possible to make it in time for the 10k start.
Perhaps a PR is in this works for this race too? We will see…..
Growing With Leala 