If you've been reading this blog, you'll know that for a few years I've been talking about getting my 5km time under 30 minutes. My PB stood at 31 minutes, so near and yet so far! Today I beat it. Not only did a beat it, I smashed it! New PB stands at 29.44
I haven't been doing a lot of running lately, throughout the summer I've been spending most of my workout time on my bike. I'm trying to build up my distance again as I'm finding 5km a chore at the moment and I have committed to the Rudolph run and Half Marathon again. My aim today was to increase my distance a little. I was going for around 6km, maybe a little more. I wasn't really concerned about the time and figured on recent performances it would be a bit of a plod.
I set off surprisingly well and felt comfortable at a good pace. A couple of km in and the app in my ear told me I was still holding a good pace but then came a km of steady uphill, which has been a challenge in the past. I expected to slow but was determined not to stop. As I turned the corner into the uphill road, I was greeted by an unwelcome headwind. Though unwelcome, it served to increase my determination and I started to pump my arms a little more. As I turned the corner back on to a flat road at around the 4km mark, the app told me I was still doing well and I started to think about the PB. At 4.5km I knew I was on and that spurred me on to pick up the pace a little bit more. Ironically, in the back of my mind I was thinking that the objective of today's run was to increase my distance and it would be a shame if I ran so hard that having hit the PB I would then want to rest and recover rather than keep running. At 5km the app told me I'd done it in 29.44 and a smile spread across my face. I wanted to do a fist pump but in fear of looking like a poor shadow of Rocky, I held it in. I resisted the urge to walk and revel in my glory, and kept running. At the risk of sounding like Forrest Gump, I just kept on running. At this point I was still a couple of km from home so if I stopped to walk it would just be a long walk home. When I run for distance, I do this deliberately so that even if I quit early, I still have to walk home. I made it to 7km leaving a short cool down walk to finish. On checking my stats I discovered that my fastest pace was the sixth km, the one straight after I hit the PB. Perhaps I flew it (or more likely it was the tailwind)?
I'm feeling so good at the moment, if a little perplexed that of all the times I ran with the PB in mind, the time I wasn't aiming to challenge it was the one that did the business. I'd also like to give a little shout out to the new trainers I got for my birthday, Some top quality Asics. I'm sure they helped.
So now the 30 min 5km is no longer the challenge, so what now? For me, it feels like Roger Bannister cracking the four minute mile. Of course, I will continue to try and better the PB, but shall I set 25 mins as a new goal? Could I do that? Or do I focus on maintaining the pace over a longer distance to better my 10km PB? Well that's one for me to ponder for a while, I think. For now I'm just happy with today. That's one in the bag for "Faster" #FasterHigherStronger
