Learn | Make | Fix | Run

When it comes to training, I like to check boxes. I like using an app like Run With Hal, where I can mark my progress in the app. I am currently doing a 30 Day Ab Challenge that uses an app, and I have been good at getting each workout done. Once, I followed a five-week Carlsbad 5000 training program printed on a paper calendar. I checked off the days after each workout. My weekly plan (not in this order) is two base runs, two pace workouts, one long run, one recovery run, and one rest day. I have done so much work faster and slower than my 5K pace that I feel I need more work at my 5K pace. However, it’s not in an app to track, and for some reason, putting it on a calendar isn’t helping. With the app, I would find a way to complete the workout. Without it, I find myself making excuses, such as needing more recovery or saying it’s too hot out when I have time to run. I have been making progress with my 5K time, so I should stay on the current course before I jump to 10K training, but I

I wasn’t happy with my 5K time trials and decided to do more workouts closer to my 5K goal pace last week. The first workout was set for 25 seconds slower than my 5K pace, and the second was set for 20 seconds slower. The end results were two of my fastest 5K runs in 2024. I haven’t hit an all-time personal record, but I have been chipping away at breaking 25:25 and getting closer to my sub-25-minute goal. During my second workout, I decided to use the Virtual Partner feature on my Garmin Forerunner 620. My 5K was set up as a workout in my watch with three one-mile repeats and a 0.13-mile run. (I set an extra 0.02 miles to pay the Strava tax.) I set the virtual partner to 8:25/mile. The Virtual Partner display has two metrics: Time Ahead and Average Pace. I assumed that the time ahead was for the entire run. I completed my first mile and was 8 seconds ahead of pace. I looked at the watch in the middle of the second mile, and my pace was 8 seconds ahead. I assumed that I needed to maint

The time trial to conclude my 5K training has not gone as well as I hoped. Injuring my toe delayed the trial by four days. My glutes were still sore from the last workouts of the block, and I took another rest day. On my first attempt, I felt like I went out too fast and ran out of breath too quickly. It was 72F, and I scrubbed the run after 20 minutes. After the run, I examined the heart rate data and observed I hit Z5 after the first mile. 27:30 On the second attempt, I did not go out as fast, but I couldn’t pick up the pace. It was cooler but windier. I hit Z5 1.5 miles into the run and completed 5K in 27:30. 26:41 I compared my second attempt with the 5K time trial I completed a month ago. That day, it was 59F and less windy. Because of traffic, the route was altered with a slightly lower total ascent. I finished in 26:41. 26:18 My second-fastest 5K was on the day I should have completed a 10K time trial last year. My fueling was “off,”