5K Training

Tuesday, I was back on a coached plan, and found myself on a treadmill doing five 90 second race-pace efforts in the middle of a 45 run.

I think this is good prep for a 5K. You have to, early in the week, remind yourself that you are going to be do something intense come race time. Ever time I've run a 5K this year- and there's only been a few, it's been a wake-up call as to how far away from that kind of effort I've trained- with good reason.

I'm not a 5K runner. I'm twenty pounds heavier than when I ran track, at least ten pounds heavier than when I ran 5ks every weekend. I'm old.

But I was trying to work the treadmill, trying to visualize myself on the Christopher Martin race course as I ran each effort, visualizing a different part of the course and trying to image myself running as faster as I am humanly possible of running. I've never been one for visualization or any other psychological methods of either training or racing, but hey, I don't have speed, so maybe I can trick myself in to pulling an impossible effort out of- thin air.

When I finished Florida, I wanted to immediately start focusing on this one last 5K. I really want to run well on this super-flat and fairly course just once.

But after having other good races along the way, it's not quite such a burning desiring at the moment, and maybe that will help. Having a good Nutmegman (thanks, Mandy !) took pressure off me to have a good Florida, and for the most part I did. Maybe stealing a win in a small cross-country race takes some of the pressure off having a good Christopher Martin, and I hope so, because the only one putting that pressure on me is me....