Race Report: Parkway Classic 5K
In 2021, the Parkway Classic was held in November instead of the usual April slot on the racing calendar. With the 2022 Parkway Classic back in the usual spot, I registered with the idea of comparing my 2021 and 2022 5K performances to test some training ideas.
2021 recap: training suggested I would run 5:20 pace at the fastest. Goal was sub 17:00. Finish was 16:48 for 8th overall and an age group win. My mile splits were almost perfectly even, but I honestly think I went out too cautiously. I stayed with the second group and let the lead pack get away. At mile 1, I realized I had more to give and ran solo for 2 miles trying to catch stragglers from the lead group. I left it too late and had to run alone. I was happy with the time but disappointed in the race execution. The weather was perfect for fast running, in the high 30s low 40s. Someone I coach hit a huge PR in the same race.
2022 training ideas: I experimented with a few new ideas in between races. First, I did more explosive plyometrics in the form of triple jumping. I had previously done bounding drills on turf but extending the distance to full triple jumps over 30’ on the runway and into the sand pit was a new stress on the body. I also did more tempo repetitions. So instead of a 30 minute tempo, I swapped in 7 on/ 3 off or 8 on / 2 off repetitions. I did more “long” hill sprints (hills taking more than 1:30 to climb) to work on lactate tolerance. March and April were both extremely windy which made my track workouts hard to gauge in terms of pace. I ran a few track workouts with the Northern Virginia Running Club. These workouts had way more volume than I was used to (think 8x1200) but running hard in a group felt easy compared to solo efforts at the same pace. A few weeks out, I raced a 5K solo in 16:48 on a hilly course, which suggested that 16:30-ish was possible on the much flatter Parkway Classic course.
2022 recap: 3rd overall in 16:15. Mile splits were 5:10, 5:09, 5:18. TrainingPeaks grade adjusted mile splits were 4:53, 4:55, 4:42, which is too generous because the hills aren’t that significant. Weather was 20 degrees warmer than November but temperature wasn’t a factor. Strategy-wise, I went out hard and was in fourth place for much of the first half, briefly slipping into third on the hills where I felt good. I held third from the halfway point to the finish as the two leaders gradually pulled away. Breathing was controlled so legs getting lactic was the biggest obstacle to a better finish. I need to focus even more on lactate tolerance work for track season. The declining rest 400m workout I do should help. I had five hours of coaching on the day prior to the race, but I can’t blame that for the heavy legs. Two other RUNSHARPER athletes ran the 5K and both had excellent results. Both PR’d and one took podium honors in her age group for the second year in a row. She also finished before a rival that she was eager to beat. It was a great day for that squad and my Northern Virginia Running Club teammates.
