Up until I turned 50 I would always opt for the 10k over the 5k if a particular race offered both. It was the macho thing to do!
Although I’m doing a 10k on Sunday because it is in my hometown and I’ve always done the 10k, I just don’t want to suffer for 33-35ish minutes on the run anymore (the suffering usually starts at the end of the first mile). It also seems that 10ks have lost their appeal for other age groups as well since the 5ks seem to always have significantly more participants when both distances are offered. Anyone else also wimping down to the 5ks?
I’m not very fast, but I think 5Ks are pretty frickin painful. Maybe it’s because I can more or less go all out for a 5k, but I am forced to ease up and pace a little better in a 10k.
I’ve never done a stand alone 5k. Closest I came was in a LTHR test for my coaching plan, an all out run for 30 minutes and took my avg heart rate for last 20 minutes. Hardest work out I’ve done all year. I swear it took me longer to recover from that then the last HIM I did. Freaking calves were knotted for a week! I know the last 20 minutes of that run I ran a 5k course and covered it in about 19 minutes, but man did it suck! Avg HR was 192.
“if you’re 50 and you can do a 33-35ish min. 10k, I suck.”
You’re safe from sucking. The 33-35ish is when the suffering starts around the one-mile mark. I’m hoping/dreaming that I will able to break 40 on Sunday.
“I find 5ks to be the most painful athletic thing I’ve ever done.”
You obviously have not tried rowing hard for 10 minutes. We used to have all sorts of endurance contests at our health club and rowing was by far the hardest.
I love the 5K and the 10K but seem to have an affinity for the half marathon so far. My first half of the year is in October so we will see if I still feel that way. I have been doing these all-comer track meets the last few weeks. Now the 800 and the mile are way more painful than the 5K…my lungs are still burning 16 hours later.