This was my first open 5k since last May so I really didn't know what to expect. In the past I have gone out far too hard and blown up in the end. My goal was to run my first mile in 6:30.

The first mile was a flat out and back through a neighborhood. I was just trying to run hard but comfortably. I talked to a couple guys who said they wanted to run 6:20 first miles so I made sure not to pass them. My first mile was 6:26.

The second mile is all downhill or flat, but I didn't get a split for it. I imagine I dropped off a little though as my arms started to get tired and my breathing got increasingly labored. I started running up on my forefoot. The positive thing was that I was passing a lot of people that went out too fast. From the second mile on, I was only passed by a couple of runners which shows I didn't go out too hard.

I ran into a lot of trouble on the third mile. With about a half mile to go I felt my stomach turn over. A couple seconds later I gagged, and a couple seconds after that I puked in front of me Jarrod Shoemaker style. I didn't stop running, but my pace was significantly slowed. I puked a couple more times but was able to pick it up before finishing.

While I didn't run negative splits, I also didn't go out too fast. I'm doing five more of these so I should learn how to run them in the future.

Something's up with my nutrition. I don't think I should eat anything before 5K's.

My previous PR was 20:44 and I beat that by 12 seconds which was nice, but I had puke caked all over my face and shirt. It was kind of embarassing so I went to my car and wiped myself. Watched my sister finish third in her age group and watched my dad PR by over a minute.


Virtually no speedwork. All my runs have been foundation runs so I need to start running tempo miles. I didn't really know how to run fast.

It was cold.