(posted at The Loop, the blogs over at RunnersWorld.com)
I sort of decided to run this one last-minute, meaning I signed up only a few days before and I didn’t “train” for it, as such. Not that I “train” for runs in particular, or even “train” at all. I just like to run. Although, lately, I have been more purposeful in how I run, specifically, trying to run more often and more slowly. So that’s a kind of training, right? And since I’ve been trying to run more slowly, I decided, again, last minute, to go all-out in this 5k.
But I needed a plan, because I know from experience “all out” lasts about 2 minutes, and then it’s just trying to survive after that. So here’s what I did: I made a play list of songs lasting for a total of about 26 minutes. I ordered them by changes in speed, and my goal was to run at an 8 minute/mile pace during the fast parts, and at 8:30/mile pace during the slow parts.
I have no science to back up this rationale. And honestly, I am nowhere near able to tell how fast I’m running at any given moment. I do have a GPS watch, but at a glance it can be “off” by as much as 2 minutes/mile in either direction. But, for the most part, for me, 8:00/mile is pushing myself nearly to max, and 8:30/mile is pushing harder than my preferred “training” pace. And of course, this was not a flat route, and I didn’t really map the expected paces to the elevation changes, so running by effort was not going to really, accurately, reflect my actual pace.
But who cares. I had a plan and making the plan was kind of fun. There’s world-class runners, elites, and competitors. I am running hobbyist. “Preparing” like this was just another way to enjoy the whole thing.
So the idea was: start off “slow,” and when the music changes, go fast, then “rest,” and then push again. I even made a spreadsheet of all of the times when the songs change. According to my calculations, if all went well, I’d finish somewhere be 25 and 26 minutes, which was just fine with me.
I finished in 24’01”.
According to my chart, I was supposed to finish the first mile in 8’17”. According to my GPS watch, I finished the first mile in 8’11”. I’m sure, for elites, a six second discrepancy can speak volumes. But for a chubby running hobbyist, this was a triumph!
I was supposed to finish the second mile by 16’27”, and my actual time was 15’56”. So this is where I, conveniently, shift from being proud of my number crunching to being proud of my running. Those 25 seconds were gained going up a 100 foot climb over about half a mile.
Finally, that last mile, was supposed to be 24’41”, but was actually 23’25”. Another 51 seconds gained.
Now, like I said, this is not at all scientific, nor even very rigorous, using a GPS watch and a spreadsheet, not accounting for elevation changes, and dodging people at the crowded beginning, and a list of other mitigating factors I’m sure you can come up with. Honestly, this could all be a sort of coincidence—if I crunch enough numbers, I bet I could justify almost any kind of prediction and result.
But as I said above, just doing the planning beforehand was fun, and added an extra dimension to the whole experience.