Part of my 2013 Goals – Running is to work on improving my speed. I knew this would be hard since my first priority is getting myself healthy and back in running shape and my second priority is redemption for my first, and only, marathon which was horrid. Because of that I am spending a large part of this year focused on marathon training which means lots of long slow distance and not many attempts to PR short races.
Insert:
I signed up for this race series to force myself to work on speed a little bit while marathon training in the hopes that I can increase my speed every single run and push myself to be a bit faster.
My 5 by the 5th – Race 1 Recap – January
5 mile total = 47.57 total
Average per mile = 9:35 pace
5 by the 5th – Race 2 – February
5 mile total = 47:00 total
Average per mile = 9:23 pace
I am ecstatic that I was able to beat my time from last month, even more so because the route we ran this time required us (T paced me, most brilliant run buddy ever!) to stop at some red lights and we still finished faster than I did last time, which means if there had been no stops it would have been even faster than that. Exciting!
However, I will admit that it is still a tough to look at a time like this and realize I pushed very hard for that time when I ran pretty close to 9 minutes flat in my last few races preinjury. I was huffing and puffing wishing the run was over for the entire 5 miles, but I pushed through and made it. I am slowly getting stronger and healthier.
Well, maybe not the healthier. I actually barely got this run in before the flu struck and I spent my Super Bowl Sunday feeling much less than super. Maybe I should have suspected something was up when I spent the first bit of our run telling T how an elevator ride had kicked my butt that day. (Seriously, I am not joking, it was only one story up, and one story down, and it about made me puke. Maybe that should have been a hint of things to come.)
My goals overall remain pretty much the same:
My For Sure Goal:
- I will run each of my 5 by the 5th races faster than the one before.
My Achievable (with hard work & recovery) Goal:
- I will reach 45 minutes by the last 5 by the 5th run.
My Pie is the Sky Goal:
- I will run my last 5 by the 5th at either:
- 45 minutes all hill (5 miles over and back on the Cooper River Bridge)
- 40 minutes on flat terrain
*Heck, I may even try both that last month.
* FYI – I have never broke sub 9 minutes on anything, close, but never quite there & hills are the devil!
Are you participating in 5 by the 5th or any other virtual run challenges?
What’s one of your running goals for this year?
such a great set of goals that you have for yourself! i honestly admire each and every one of your posts because you are constantly striving to achieve more and more to better yourself! i know youre gonna do great! you are a rockstar!
what a great challenge! and you are off to a great start good job!
Thanks Heather. It is nice to see improvement.
You must have been totally cruising to beat your time ans stop at stoplights. Whoot!
I’m doing 13 in 2013 and I think all my runs may be virtual but we’ll see if I get brave enough to venture out with the public.
I’m so sorry you’ve had the flu! I hope you were able to take some time off to recoup.
Thanks it was so hard to start again after stopping at the stop lights.
You are going to smash your goals! Get yourself healthy and go for it! So proud to know you. You are so motivating!
Thank you so much Mindy I find you extremely motivating too.
That’s pretty awesome that you got the 5 before the 5th in before getting sick
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I think you could easily beat 9 min/mile pace on a 5 miler. For one thing, you’re already doing it in easy runs, if you found a 5 mile race I most know you’d be at about a 9 min/mile if you 1.) were in a race situation where you could benefit psychologically, 2.) weren’t coming down with the flu, and 3.) have your base back up from being injured, which looks like that’s coming along well.
As for the elevator ride… elevators are weird and a few of them make me feel a little off too. Just depends on the elevator, but this is especially true with the really fast ones in large hospitals.
Thanks I was very lucky to get it in before I got injured. I wonder if your right and I’d do the 5 miler faster during the race, I bet I would.
Looks like you are rocking your recovery chica!! Keep it up!
Thanks Melissa, slowly, but surely.
Awesome job! You should be so proud of yourself! My big running goal for this year is to finish a marathon. And get faster.
Finishing a marathon is a great goal. That’s my big goal too, actually marathons 2 & 3 as redemption after I did number 1 so badly.
You’re a beast for getting that all in girl! That drive and determination might be overload on the immune system?
Or those 7-10 year olds are overload on the immune system;)
Nice job getting faster! I think these goals are a great way to incorporate speed into marathon training. And I love that you want to run each one faster and see improvement over a long period of time! Awesome job! You’ve got this!
I am hoping to get faster each one, but boy will that one in June be hard. It will be HOT here then.
You’re going to be back at it 100% in NO TIME. That’s a huge improvement! I like how you’ve incorporated the 5 by 5th into a “speed work” of sorts
Kind of how I do my weekly 5 for time! It helps sooo much! To run faster, you have to run faster. 
That’s my goal. Force myself to run faster so I get better.
Thanks Laura. I am enjoying having something to push me to run faster during marathon training.
Congratulations on running it faster! I think you’ll definitely be able to run each month faster
I am participating too and my second time was slower than my first, but I was running on snowier roads and I’m not trying to run each one faster. I would like to run sub-45 minutes though if the conditions allow since my current PR is 44:25. I know I can go faster than that.
Wow. Sub 45 is for sure my overall goal. I’ve never broken 9:00 on anything. I am sorry the snowy roads slowed you down a bit. Running on snow and ice always really scared me.
Me too. My current 5K PR is 45minutes. I have only ever done one and had to walk it, so I also cannot wait to imporve.