5k Time Trial – 26:05

Posted on Aug 23, 2012 under 5-10k, Season's Best, Time Trials | No Comment

Been a while since my last time trial, and wanted to see where I was at after all the hard running and work at the Sweatshop running club, etc.

Had been an exhausting day mentally so really needed to get a run, set off gently for a 2.5k warmup and was surprised that my legs felt a little niggly as they had felt so strong yesterday! Felt ok but warm at a gentle pace, then walked around for a bit to psyche myself up for the time trial, as I know 5k time trials often mean one thing – PAIN!

Set off on the usual route so it could compare to the last outing. Glanced at the Garmin and was doing about 4:40 to start off with, and the first km ticked over in 4:53 – so far so good! But I was starting to breathe hard and wondered how long I could maintain that kind of pace! The inclines hit my pace slightly to bring in a 5:09 second km, and then the third ticked over in 5:01. I was feeling very puffy by then and working hard to try to maintain that pace, but once the inclines took their toll I ended up with a 5:18 4th km. As I took the slope down Town Lane towards St Anne’s Road, I felt a little stab of pain in my right calf, and not wanting to risk an injury, I had to slow a little, and as much as I tried to increase cadence with shorter strides, I felt pretty done in by that point, knew I wasn’t going to get near sub 25, and ended up with a pretty slow last km.

Still, it was 50 seconds off my last time trial, and a season’s best, and I probably still had some of last week’s miles in my legs! At least I know I have the pace to run at sub 50 10k pace, I just need to work on the speed endurance now!

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