Hey there! So today I just wanted to take a few minutes to write about my upcoming 5K on May 12th. I’m anxious, excited and nervous to cross a starting line for the first time in almost exactly one year.
In fact this race last year was the last race I finished before I started seeing a doctor about exertional compartment syndrome. It’s The Color Run which is just a fun 5K that I’ve done a couple times now. It feels appropriate that it was my last race before I was diagnosed with compartment syndrome, and now it will be my first race back!
It’s not chip timed; it’s a fun run, which is exactly what I need. I have definitely forgotten what it’s like to pace myself in a race, so doing a Color Run will take some of that pressure off of me.
My A-Goal for this race is just to figure out what paces I should be running in my training this spring/early summer.
So far my coach has based my training paces off a 1-miler I did a few weeks ago in which I went “all out” and finished in just over 13 minutes. Since then I am sure my base fitness has improved a lot because all of the training paces prescribed feel super easy even on quality run (aka speed) days.
My coach and I agreed lately that I should do my quality runs based on effort rather than pace since I want to get something out of them, but I also want to figure out what my real running base is right now too. So, while this 5K isn’t chip timed of course it will be Garmin timed :).
Since my A-goal isn’t to finish in a specific time but rather to get a feel for pacing myself again while trying to do the best possible, I’m kind of at a loss for what to expect as a finishing time and I don’t want to guess.
I’ve decided to not set expectations for total time, but rather set all my goals based on other things. I want to:
- finish as fast as possible
- work on pacing
- not take any walking breaks
- have fun!
Having fun is the most important because I didn’t get surgery so that I could put pressure on myself to run X time or Y pace. I had the fasciotomies because I running gives me joy and I didn’t want to live without the happiness it brings me.
Of course a part of the joy includes training hard and seeing the result of that. PRing after a good training cycle is a high I’ll be chasing again soon, but it’s not one that I’m chasing this month. For now running is just for fun because I like to do it and because I can do it!!!!
Anyone else running a 5K this month?
What are your spring/summer goals?
Your race is coming up! I think the Color Run is perfect for your first race back for all the reasons you said. I think you would really like trail running, I wish there were more trails around you! It’s such a different mindset than road running. It’s more fun and relaxed.
I’m catching up on your blog today and just wanted to say that your approach to this race is so smart. Your return to running has been so great lately so I am sure your race will go well. Good luck this weekend!