I finally got my 5k PR! YESH. I was really so excited, I couldn’t believe I did it — my watch (which I forget to stop at the finish) said around 30 minutes. I knew I got in earlier but it didn’t matter: I got my 30-minute PR! Little did I know, I actually got a sub-30 time! wOOt. Official recorded time was: 29 mins 20 seconds. That’s about a 9:28 min/mile pace. Compare that to my previous PR five years ago (32:44 @ 10:32 pace), I think I’ve shaved off some wee minutes there.

This was also the first time I’d ever used my Vibram Five Fingers for an actual race! The verdict is: awesomesauce.

Still, despite the positive race result, there were a couple of things I would’ve done differently and have to keep in mind:

• I hit the 1st mile with a sub-9 pace. ACK. I think the lady reading the watch at the 1st mile marker said something like 8:45! I definitely went too fast too early and kind of slowed down to an 10:45 min/mile pace midway.
• I stood too close to the start line. Not that close but close enough that the reason I went too fast in the beginning was I was attempting to run with the pack — who apparently were going too fast for their tastes either! LOL I was just concerned that it wasn’t chip timing so I didn’t want to lose that much time
• I forgot to wear my compression calf sleeves. I make it a point that whenever I run in my Vibram Five Fingers shoes, I wear my compression sleeves as: 1) support; 2) speedier recovery for later. Both calves are still sore, btw. It also doesn’t help that I haven’t stretched or used the foam roller, at all.
• Need watch my breathing. At one point, I was breathing rather shallow that I only realised it when some random person running next to me was breathing just as fast. I kept my speed and did some deep breathing.

So just a few notes for me to keep in mind the next time I do a short race. At least I knew that I had to just give it everything I got.

Oh, did I mention my heart rate was maxing out? Or close to maxing anyway! I was just thinking, please little heart, help me get to the finish line!

Anyway, my next 5k is on July 4th. I’m doing all these short races as preparation for the sprint triathlon in October! And for fun, of course. I just need to take a short break from long distance running before I get back into training for the Marine Corps Marathon in October!

p.s.,
I need to remind myself to wear my superman underpants again. I think those helped me zoom past the peeps

p.p.s.,
Shout out to my little brother, Jean! It was his first 5k and he finished with a respectable 32 minutes! Though he wasn’t happy with his time, I told him that he’ll definitely do better if he trained for the next race! So, he’s doing the 4th of July 5k with me and sis! YAY another sibling bitten by the running bug!