I completed two 5k run races over the last month consisting of a downer followed by a healthy rebound. This was the first straight 5k race I’ve run in a few years. In my offseason from duathlon racing, all of my straight run races have been focused on the 10k in recent years with a few adding a 5k challenge immediately following 10k.
I have a significant time between the end of the 2025 duathlon season and start of my 2026 season so I wanted to incorporate a few different things back in the mix with one of them, the 5k race. I’ve done more 5k races in my 11 years of racing than any other distance and have a strategy that has worked for me.
These races would act as fitness tests for me and get me faster. There is nothing like competing in a race to get max effort that you simply can’t get in a workout. A 5k works great as recovery is quick and acts a great workout stimulator and the basis for paces going forward.
In years past, I could hop into a 5k race with a mini taper and always be under 20 minutes. I am at the age now where paces slide. It’s reality which is challenging to deal with and quite motivating to hang on as close as possible. Being that I hadn’t run the race that I knew better than any I’ve raced and the aging factor, I went into it with curiosity and a bit of doubt as I wasn’t in tip top shape but in pretty good shape. Again, in the past, I would still have run a sub 20:00 race.
The first race was Turkey Trails in Seminole Park, Florida. It was a warm morning the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving. I had a decent warm up, had my mental targets, and was ready to go. The horn went off and I felt decent for the first half mile but my pace was slower than target for mile one but still good. I finished mile one five seconds off my mile one target pace…ugh. That wasn’t the worst. Mile two I slid and continued to slide with my target pace nine seconds off followed by a mile three 21 seconds off. I had a fast final .06 miles but that wasn’t good enough. I came in at 20:09 and that was with my watch showing just under the 3.1 distance so it was actually worse than the total time showed.
Immediately after I felt disappointed. This was a significant moment. I didn’t produce what I used to be able to in a similar situation. Age? Fitness? Temperature? Not tapered? Moon wasn’t full? Combination of all?
After the day passed I continued with training and targeted my next race, the Run Tampa Tinsel Run, at Al Lopez Park in Tampa, Florida on December 20. The fail in Seminole gave me an edge in training which helped. I shed a couple pounds and did a few things this time on race week to prepare. I went for a deep tissue therapy session on Thursday that was incredible. As soon as I walked in, I was asked what was wrong with my left side. After sharing some recent history, it was believed I’m still suffering from my bike crash at Long Course Nationals when I landed on my left sit bone…lower back, hip, IT band, quad, knee… just crap that needed to be worked on.
I was advised to see my chiropractor and I did that on Friday. By the time Saturday morning rolled around, I had a freshly aligned body along with a mini taper feeling pretty decent in warm ups. It was a cool morning and I was ready to see what I had.
The horn went off and this time my pacing was fast while feeling in control and my hips felt open…much different than four weeks earlier in Seminole. Mile one was 13 seconds faster than Seminole and 9 seconds ahead of my mile one target pace. That was the shot of confidence I needed and I felt in control as well, knowing a mile two blow up was not going to happen. All the way through mile two I was ahead of my mile two target pace and again, that just shot confidence through me that I was going to nail this day. I ended mile two 11 seconds ahead of my mile two target pace and 20 seconds faster than Seminole!
I rolled into mile three keeping the pace and confidence. Mile three was great knowing I was going to smash the 20:00 goal. I finished mile three 18 seconds faster than Seminole and sprinted through the finish line with a 19:33…26 seconds under goal and 36 seconds faster than the month prior.
It was only a local 5k race, but the enthusiasm was pretty damn high! I was relieved more than anything but happy, proud, and I worked at it. I’m still hanging on…
As I move into the new year I’ll go back to focusing on the 10k run distances for a few races prior to duathlon season. I have run fewer 10k races than the 5k distance and it is the first run distance in my ‘A’ duathlon races so I gotta practice what I race.
I love competing! Failing is inevitable and I really think a necessity to get better. Fail, figure it out, game plan, execute to the best of your ability, and fail or succeed. Do it all over again. It is awesome!
– Add Health to Your Life
The Healthy Giraffe 
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