Hi,
So, I did it. First 5k race in the bag. 25.53.
Some of you may have read I was aiming for sub 30mins so extremely pleased with the result!
I felt I paced myself quite well in the race but would like to know opinions on same.
My splits are below, first 4k were quite consistent, final k much faster. I finished strong but definately couldnt have gone further. I guess this is good?
I just wonder should I have started quicker, finished a bit slower etc? Is there an accepted best tactic?

Splits (1k)
5.14
5.18
5.17
5.17
4.39

That's an excellent performance...well done!!

Your last k was 38secs approx quicker than your first 4 splits....it's always good to leave something in the tank for the last k and as you say you had nothing left at the end.

If you can do 5'10" splits for the first 4ks you save 26secs at an even pace and probably still be able to do a sub 5min final k to make the effort less exhausting at the finish. Of course if you could knock off a couple more secs per split for the first 4ks............

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One small step for man.....

In my experience pace is totally personal. I have actually found it better to go out quite fast then let myself level out, this way I seem to find a quicker average pace and find it easier to maintain it rather than start slow and try and increase the pace later on. In a race, however fast you've gone I think you always have something in the tank to nail the last k on adrenalin! That's just how I tend to do it, but obviously you run the risk of burning out if you start too quick, so it depends how confident you are in your own ability to find a quick but do-able pace. Probably worth trying a few different ways in training.

Ollie

Fantastic result. It is always a good feeling to completely surpass your expectations. As others have said, pace is very personal. For 5ks, I tend to blast the first mile, ease off slightly the second mile (and recover a little bit) then try and push the last mile as much as I can. If you run the last mile or 1k much faster than the others, you never really know how much faster you could have gone. For 5ks, you should be at close to maximum capacity for the whole distance. That's why the call it a long sprint

I actually went for a 5k run this morning (bit slower than my normal race pace) and my 1k splits were:

3:47
4:05
4:12
4:07
4:09

So I tend to start out fast and ease a bit in the middle.

Still a bit on the nippy side though!!

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One small step for man.....

Yeah. I was conflicted before and throughout the run as to whether I wanted a slow or fast run, so I ended up with something a bit quick.

Lol, same here - I was going to run how I felt rather than watching the clock, and just run at tempo pace, but at 2k I noticed I was going pretty well and started running against the clock... Nonetheless I had gone out quite quick (for me!), and ended up doing a considerably faster time than the other day when I experimented with setting off slowly.

I know that for 10k, a start slow and build up strategy has been working for me, but in 5k there just isn't time to catch up, so I'm with the start off at a quick pace, try to maintain it and maybe cruise a little in the middle, and quicken up in the end if you've got anything left camp

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I think I hit 4:02 as my fastest pace, but my average was 5 per k - I don't think my limited kit does the splits

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My Running Blog -

You need a Garmin

I've got a Garmin, but only a 101. Don't think it does the splits? Or maybe it does but I need to set it up. Will have a look!

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My Running Blog -

Do you use the sportracks software? That does the splits for you. Garmin training centre doesn't seem to.

I don't think I have a choice of software - 101's don't even interface with the PC!

I think I've just found an autolap function that's supposed to record splits - I will try it next time, will be interesting to see how these splits work out.

Next time I might RTFM

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Congrats on beating your target. Doesn't really matter how you did it

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0 - 14 Miles in 6 months, 2 hours, 13 minutes and 58 seconds.
Start weight: 18 st 4.. Current weight: 14 st 11.. Current Goal: Duchy Marathon, 8th March 2009

Thanks for all the advice.
Will try starting out a bit quicker next time I think!

So, did the same race again (its one of those parkrun events). Started quicker and did the following splits:

4.50
4.58
5.09
5.20
4.23

Felt ok, but was tiring by 3rd km, slowed for the 4th and managed to put in a quick (for me) final one.

New PB, 24.46

Had a bit of a cold too ;-)