Yesterday (Saturday) I ran a race that was both successful and extremely frustrating. I did a 5K, not as my goal race but just to see where my fitness is … and as I haven’t done a 5K since last year, I decided to try to set my PR (which as of last year was 22:25).
I was certain I’d set my PR as I’m a lot stronger these days. So I went out to run about a 7:00 pace — and that’s exactly what I did, until the last 800m when I ran almost an all out sprint at 5:00 pace.
I ended up beating my PR by 4 mins at 18:23, which is impossible, until I found out from other runners that the course was short!!!
How FRUSTRATING!!!
I ran the course again and found out that someone put the turnaround cones (it was an out-and-back course) in the wrong place. Whoever measured the course had marked where the turnaround should be, and it was .22 of a mile further than the cones were. Which means, as it was an out-and-back course, that the course was short .44 of a mile.
Assuming I would have run a 7:00 pace for that .44 of a mile, I would have easily set a PR. My calculations put my run at about 21:28 for a 5K, nearly a minute faster than my PR. As it is, because someone messed up, I don’t have a new PR!!!
Oh well. I ran a great race, came in 16th for the men and top 5 in my division, and I should just be happy with that. I’ll run another 5K in 2-3 weeks to see if I can actually set the PR.
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Other than the 5K, I did about 40 mins of easy running after the race to finish at around 7 miles for the day. I’m taking a rest day today (Mother’s Day).
As for eating, I”m not going to log my food this weekend if you guys don’t mind. I did pretty well for most of yesterday, eating my usual stuff in the morning and afternoon, but in the evening I cheated as we had a Mother’s Day get-together. I ate little bits of different things and don’t really know how to log it all. I ate a lot, but with my running in the morning I’d guess I was still in a slight calorie deficit.
Today, as a rest day, I won’t be in deficit. It’s another cheat day. I had a Mother’s Day brunch with my family this morning, and ate a decent amount, and have another get-together this evening and will probably overeat a bit. :)
Oh well. :) I’ll get back on track tomorrow (although it’s Eva’s birthday and we’ll probably go out and overeat for dinner). I’m doing a long bike ride tomorrow morning and am looking forward to that.
Hope everyone’s having a great weekend! Happy Mother’s Day!
Hey Leo – Hope you guys had a nice Mother’s Day!
Bummer about the 5K PR but it looks as though your run times are coming along nicely.
Keep up the GREAT work!
Id imagine its a welcome BREAK FOR YOU not to have to write down every little morsel for us as well.
hope it was a nice mothers day there—treats and all.
Bad luck on those cones!
Hey Leo! You inspired me to keep a training blog of my own. I’m incredibly surprised at the level of accountability it establishes, not only for those who check in on me, but also myself, as if I’m looking at myself underneath a microscope. I’m looking to do a sprint triathlon one day, myself! However, having had some knee problems, I’m shooting for a simpler goal first, a 5k, before going that route!
I encourage you to keep up your training! Feel free to drop by my blog and say hi. :)