Advice needed for a 8K road race

go out with the leaders and with 1k to go put your head down, cause thats it.

arturo wrote:

go out with the leaders and with 1k to go put your head down, cause thats it.

Well, I would like to do that, but I am afraid I will not be able to keep up - since this has international invitation, 7 guys has 10K PR of sub 28'. No, I was not invited, but qualified as a local competitor to run with the Elite. Even in the local, there are runners that are way out of my reach.

Any recommendations?

Anyone?

LHS wrote:

Anyone?

It's the letsrun way of saying shut up, quit thinking, go run.

Helper wrote:

It's the letsrun way of saying shut up, quit thinking, go run.

I got you! It is letsrun, so anything running related will get ignored and only non-running related will attract interest. I guess the name should change to letstoprun.com.

I suggest going out in 5:35 to 5:40 and that should allow you to even split or possibly negative split the race.. This is dependent on the fact you are in 17 flat 5k shape and the course is easy to moderate. Have fun out there and report back the results.

I got a laugh out of your new website name but it would be letsstoprun.com ..

Thanks for the reply. I will try going out between 5'35 - 5'40" and see how I feels after a mile or two and adjust from there.

The course is very flat and about 8-10 mph wind (According to the forecast), so I will see what I can do and will defintely let you know how it turns out.

Regarding the new name, I thought about 2 'S'. But, I saw some web site doing it that way (combine two repeat letters into 1). Anyway, thanks for pointing it out.

There is no 39 year old on the list.

Name, Hometown Age Top 5K

Andrew Cook, Fl. Mound 27 14:59

Clint Bell, Dallas 28 15:05

Ernesto Cabellero, Dallas 42 15:52

Ryan Gorman, Irving 27 15:53

Daniel Rudd, Mesquite 20 16:02

William Moore, Dallas 46 16:05

Ken Hall, Colleyville 44 16:14

Tyler Johnson, Dallas 25 16:27

Jeff Roth, Dallas 50 16:37

Jose Lopez, Richardson 22 16:37

Salem Lake wrote:

I suggest going out in 5:35 to 5:40 and that should allow you to even split or possibly negative split the race.. This is dependent on the fact you are in 17 flat 5k shape and the course is easy to moderate. Have fun out there and report back the results.

I got a laugh out of your new website name but it would be letsstoprun.com ..

Ok, here is what I did:

Started off at 5'40" pace and thought the course is flat and I should be able to pick up a bit later. Wrong, it is not as flat as suggested - they say it is the fastest 8K in the world and I learned later it is because the 8K WR was set here. So, I hang on with the same pace through out the race and did a 28'14", which I consider OK for my first 8K.

I am sure I can do better, but due to the lack of experience and the cold I had this week, I am happy with the result.

I think for your first time a low 28 isn't to shabby.

For being in 17 shape on your first 8k that's a solid time.

Nice job today with the 28:14.. I am impressed you ran an even split race especially considering your comments that the race was not flat. Keep up the training and I am sure you will break your 16:42 5k PR and be running in the 27 mid's for 8k later this spring or in the summer! Thanks for the update as well.

"an"

Salem Lake wrote:

Nice job today with the 28:14.. I am impressed you ran an even split race especially considering your comments that the race was not flat. Keep up the training and I am sure you will break your 16:42 5k PR and be running in the 27 mid's for 8k later this spring or in the summer! Thanks for the update as well.

Sorry, but this guy sounds like a bit of a tool. He's run 16:42, is in 17 flat shape, and needs advice from anonymous wannabees on letsrun on how to pace an 8K?

Here's a newsflash: This sport is not that freakin' complicated. If you're in 17 flat shape, you should be going out in about 5:40 and holding the pace. If you don't know what the course is like, you haven't done your homework and you deserve whatever surprises come your way.

What did he expect people to say: "Dude, you're in 17 flat for 5K shape - take it out in 5 flat and see what happens!" Duh.

Virginia Boy:

What you said might be true in most cases. But, what happened to me was: I have never done an 8K before and learned there will be an 8K on Sat. on Monday and get qualified on Tuesday. I have no idea what the course will look like and it is 75 miles away. With work and a little bit sick, I did not have the time to check around. Keep in mind this is the first time they invited local competitors to this race (It was a elite invitational only race before).

I had some idea based on my other race distance, but want to get a confirmation from letsrun.com, I do not see that as a surprise. you?

Chris, you ran in distance high school and in college, as well as competitively after college. You know the distance. You have raced 10K before. You are 34, not 39. You live 20 miles north of the course, not 75. Play it Strait with the board. Just an observation.

I am not Chris. Actually I am 38 now, will be 39 in 2 month, so I said 39 (as I am closer to 39 than 38). I did ran in College, but that was for 400/800, did not run a 5K until I was 35 and never run a 10K.

Just in case you saw my time with 28'16", that was gun time and the chip time is 28'14" as I thought I would not be as competitive as others, so I started from the back.

But, overall, thanks for all that responded. I will definitely looking forward to set a 5K PR this year - probably in June.

I get your points Virginia Boy esp about the sport being not so complicated.. I am always surprised though how many people go out way TOO fast in a race. It is funny in a way.

I replied to this LHS because he seemed to have a desire to do well and needed some guidance.

LHS: great job in your 8k.. Get some consistent training in and you are well on your way to more PRs.

Really, I think your answer helped me a lot for the race. As you said - there are many people go out too fast and I definitely do not want to be one of them, so I want to confirm my gut feeling.

It is funny though as you mentioned this: While doing warm up, I met with a local guy I know who has been running marathon for 10 years (under 3 hrs, so he is not a jogger). He asked me what pace I am going to hit and I told him about 5'40". He said he will go with me although he plan to go out a little faster. So there we went, hit 1k at 3'32" and 2K at 7'08" together. I started to pick up a bit (due to the slightly slower 2nd K) and he can not keep up. I end up finish 1'23" faster. I always beat him in 5K, so I know I should finish before him. But, if I did not get a confirmation of pace, I might get excited and started with 5'30" or faster and fade later. Trust me, I did not make this up.

Again, thank you for your advice and I sure will try to set a PR in 5K this year.