Wednesday morning, I decided to run a 5K time trial. I’ve been consistent with my 20 minute run a day, most days routine, but I hadn’t done many longer runs lately. With Pat’s Run (4.2 miles) coming up, I wanted to make sure I don’t lose that bit of endurance while focusing on other training.
I originally planned to run last weekend, but something came up. I was going to skip it, but this felt like the right time to get it done.
The Goal
Going in, my goal was simple: hold an okay 17 minute mile pace throughout the run. I also factored in a five-minute walking warm-up, something I’ve omitted when I run immediately after the gym.
The Run
After the warm-up, my pace started out over 20 minutes per mile. Once I settled in, I slowly brought it down to 17 but then, it kept dropping and I kept pushing. It went down to 16:45, 16:30, 16:15 and even 16 minute miles. By the end, I worked my pace down to 15:51 per mile. This run I thought about skipping ended up being my fourth-fastest 5K of all time. This includes the 5 minutes of walking which wasn’t factored into any of the better runs. That felt really good.
It’s also important to note that this was not in a race setting. Races bring energy, excitement, and tapering that you just don’t get in a solo time trial. My fastest effort is still from a half marathon a couple of years ago, but this run put me back in a place that feels comparable—and that’s encouraging.
Honestly, I have no doubt I could set a new 5K PR in a race environment. If I warmed up off the clock and had race-day adrenaline, I would only need to shave about 11 seconds per mile.
The Peaks of TrainingPeaks
One of the things I really like about TrainingPeaks is how it highlights progress.
Even though this effort didn’t crack my top three all-time, it still showed:
- Fastest kilometer and mile of all time.
- 2nd fastest 800m of all time.
- Fastest 5K performance in last 90 days.
Seeing that kind of data reinforces something I’ve been feeling: the work is paying off. I may not always see it in my pacing day-to-day, but the improvements are there.
TrainingPeaks does an excellence job at awarding Peak Performances for running, you can highlight your best paces at particular distances for the last 90 days, any given year or all time.
I’ve learned to rely on multiple metrics because they don’t all trend upward at the same time. Some numbers lag while others improve—but over time, they all move in the right direction. That’s exactly what I’m seeing right now.
Adjusting my Zones
This run also gives me a good data point to update my 80/20 training paces and really helps me better define different zones rather than walking or all out. Zone 1 will remain walking as it was previously. Zone 2 will remain running at 19 per mile. Zone 3 will move up to 17 minutes per mile from 18 minutes. Zone 4 will move up to 15 minutes per mile from 17 minutes per mile. Zone 5 will remain as an all out effort.
Final Thoughts
This is a great win that makes the work worthwhile. They don’t always come as often as I would like, but it’s important to celebrate them when I can. I am building consistency, getting stronger, and seeing real indicators of progress. Now it’s about staying consistent, making small adjustments, and carrying this momentum into the next race.