This last weekend a ran a 5k. I didn't wear my watch because I didn't exactly expect to run super fast, and I wanted to focus on competing in the race; passing the runners in front of me more than the pace I was on.
Turns out I ran a 16:59, two seconds slower than my PR on the track. I didn't hear any times until less than 200 meters to go when an announcer said "16:30, 2nd and third can get under 17!" (I got third in the race, got kicked in the last 50 meters by a dad, woof).
The questions I've been pondering are these: If I had known how fast I was going throughout the race, could I have safely ran a PR?
OR
Is it because I was running based purely based off of effort that I ran as close to a PR as I did?
Bottom line: Would knowing how fast I was going have made me go faster, or just psyched me out?
I'm interested to hear responses