The 5K Time Trial

As I alluded to in my previous post, the Wednesday night track work out was not going to be easy. The good old fashioned 5K Time Trial is a bitch and I would be happy to never do one again. For those who don’t know, a 5K is just over 3 miles—3.1 to be exact. That’s 5,000 meters or 12.5 times around a 1600-meter track. What’s the big deal with 3.1 miles you ask? Nothing….nothing at all if you are going out for a quick warm-up or jog. However, the 5K race and 5K time trial is much more than that.
Let me explain…

Each race type and distance is designed for a specific reason. The primary thought is to achieve the best results possible for the given distance. That being said, one can deduce that a shorter should be run at a much faster pace than a longer race. Now in reality aren’t many races shorter than a 5K or longer than a marathon. In fact, the 5K is the most common because of the short distance. Further reasoning would show that one would then run the 5K at a much faster pace than one would a marathon. So one can than say a 5K is run at almost "full throttle".

Therein lies the problem, my running friends…

When I run my marathon pace, I think that is fast!!! So you ask me to run at 5K pace…much faster…and I say "F^#^ you!" No, I don’t really come out and say that, but I’m not happy when you want me to suffer for 3.1 miles.

There is a huge upside, however. It’s only 3.1 miles…we will be done in under 20 minutes!!! That 20 minutes seems to last forever, especially doing this on the track. But when its over, the legs feel pretty good, the adrenaline and endorphins seem like nature’s answer to pain killlers…and now…IT"S BEER TIME!!!

So we finish, on a measured track under good conditions, and what does everyone say? "I think this was measured a little long…my 5K is much, much faster."

Who the hell knows…I’m just happy to be done.