8:20s

We all know what time it is when it's 4:20.. but what about 8:20?

Last night, I was curious about what I could pull off in a 5K, with my recent personal success.

I set up my Garmin to run 3 miles at an 8:20 pace. That would set me at 25 minutes for the 3 miles.

How'd it work out..? I'm glad you asked! The first mile was done in 8:13, and the remaining two were done in 8:17. I was left with about :20 to spare. (And my watch started displaying "You win!" as I raced against my virtual partner.

I also warmed up and cooled down with another mile (total.. about a third up front, and the rest on the back end).


Calves were tight this morning, but they're loosening up.



While running, I felt that I had a bit left in the tank, and that I probably could turn it up another notch if necessary..

That bodes well for me. I was really curious about the feasibility of running a 25 minute 5K. Looking at the pace calculator over at Cool Running, it appears I'd need to do 8:03 splits.

If and when I ever run a 5K, I'll probably put my goal at 27 minutes, and my stretch goal at 25.
Of course, if you had asked me about running a 5K a year and a half ago, I'd have laughed and walked away. To go from a non-runner to somewhat realistically wondering about a sub-25, I'm pretty happy.