So far this year I have run in three 5K races. The last race in the series will be during the Memorial Day weekend. This race comes the day after I compete in a bike race over two high mountain passes (10,600 & 11,200). These two events requiere completely different strategies and physiological demands. I will runnng for 18 minutes and cycling for 2 hours and 45 minutes.
In my first running race in Febuary, I started slower and stayed a comfortable distance behind the race leader. I chose not to catch him but wait until later in the race. With 3/4 of a mile to go I passed him very fast and I kept pushing all the way to the finish. The margin of victory was 45 seconds. I could have run a faster overall time had I raced at a more even pace for the 3 miles.
For my next two 5K races I started quickly and kept a fast pace for the first 3 minutes of the race. At that point, I backed off the pace and settled into a good rythm until I had to dig deep in the last 1/2 mile. I like the new strategy of starting a bit quicker.
In order for me to start quicker, I need to get a very good warm up. I run 4 fast sprints to get my heart rate to a level that I would have during the race. These fast runs are at least 200 meters in length. I am done with my sprints 40 minutes before the race. This gives my body plenty of time to relax. When the race starts, my body is ready to operate with high heart rates because of the hard 200 meter sprints I did 40 minutes before the race. Jogging slowly does not get your body ready to race with high heart rates.
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