I didn’t bonk! I didn’t hit my target time either, though. I would consider my recent 5K race mostly a success because it was a chance to gain more running experience while measuring myself against what I did back in September.

So, what was my target time? It was 19:59. What did I finish the 5K in? I finished in 21:21. Quite a bit better than the 21:59 a few months ago, but still a ways off from going sub-20:00. I do think that being a halfway decent runner at one point in my life has doomed me to having somewhat unrealistic expectations, but I will climb this mountain again. Even if it takes longer than I expected. The journey is part of the fun, after all!

Takeaways

• Old-school tech is not great when it comes to running shoes.
• There’s a lot of “feel” to pacing that only comes with repetition.
• Running in-person races is better than virtual ones (this one was done as safely as possible).
• It’s a fine line between leaving it all on the course successfully and finishing with too much left in the tank.

Next Training Block Begins

After my calves recover a bit I’ll begin my next training block. Seriously, those Lunaracers, while they felt fine during the 5K, destroyed my calves. I’ve been stretching, massaging, applying various creams, etc., and they’re just now unwinding. Definitely have to pick up something newer than circa 2010. Currently, I have a 5K race on August 14 penciled in. That would be a 15-week training block, which is quite long, but I need the extra time to dial in pacing and (intelligently) build up my mileage. In any case, I’ll still be aiming for that 19:59 until I hit it and move onto the next ambitious goal.