Exceeding Expectations
On Saturday, I ran my first 5K. Going into the race, I was hoping to break 34 minutes. I had managed 0:34:55 in afternoon training runs for the 5000 m distance, and I was relying on the cool morning weather to knock a minute off of my time. My predicted VO2 Max from the two mile race I had run just a weekend prior suggested that I could finish this race in 0:33:06 if I pushed as hard as possible.
When I started out, I was running six-and-a-half-minute kilometers, and I stayed above that level for the whole race. At the halfway point, I was only fifteen minutes in, and I saw that I was on track for something far more than expected if I could just hold on. After cresting the last hill of the course at 4.5 km, I saw no more reason to hold out. I pushed down the hill. I kept pushing as it leveled. I sprinted the last hundred or so meters.
I finished in 0:30:50. I was so excited that I forgot to stop my watch. I had averaged 6:10 kilometers (9:55 miles). I had an average speed of 9.7 km/h—over 6 MPH.
I never felt tired or sore afterwards, just a little hungry. It was in all respects a moment of pure breakthrough.
Now if I can just break thirty on the Wingding 5K next month…
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