5k personal best...in a TRI?!

My PR in a 5k came in my last sprint tri (by a whole minute)...either the course was very short, or I had a good day. I think many people can say that they had a 5k PR in a tri, you just don't have the adrenaline flowing in a 5k.

Wow...I was going to make a similar post.

I ran numerous 5K's last year and couldn't seem to do much better than run a 24:40-24:50 time. now, I am sure that I am doing much better. Although I have only run triathlons where the runs were over 3 miles, but I am sure I am breaking my PB....

I think it has something to do with our fitness level at the time of the run. Most of the time when we run a 5K race, by itself, you start somewhat cold and have the mental element as part of the struggle of running a 5K...I attribute it to my body being much "looser" when it comes time to run.

Good post and congrats on the PB!!!

Here's what you do. Go run a regular 5K in the next couple of weeks and see how fast you go. Then you'll be able to tell if the triathlon had anything to do with the PR, or if you're just generally more fit than before. I would be very surprised if you didn't get another PR in the stand-alone race.

If somehow the swim and bike got you warmed up enough to go faster, I would interpret that to mean that your usual warmup routine isn't that good. You could work on that, or warm up on a bike if you really think there's something mystical about doing a 5K as part of a tri.

-dave

Edited by skavoovie 2006-08-05 1:19 AM

Tri courses are notoriously inaccurate, aren't required to be certified, or officially measured. Could have been short, or you can be getting faster. The only way to check is to run one on a certified course.

This is normal for me, since I am quite a bit faster running off the bike than when done as a standalone event (even in training). The warm up I get from the bike probably has something to do with it.
I probably also don't push hard enough on the bike when I know I have to run, but that's a whole other issue.

Oh, see, now you're just bragging . . .

considering that last year the same run portion took me 43: some change...yep.

The swim and bike were excellent warmups for your 5k run in a tri and were not all that fatiguing (especially in a sprint tri).

I know a lot of 5K and 10K runners that always run 2-3 K's at very easy intensity prior to a race if they go for a PB, placing, medals, etc.

The other thing to consider is that it was a race. I wasn't sure if your other stand-alone 5k's were just training runs, or were actual races. There's a lot to be said for the adrenaline and excitement of race day.