Training for Las Vegas 5k 2024

I roped some other people into doing a 5k with me in December. Now I gotta get ready.

I don’t harbor any illusions about actually running the whole thing, which is scheduled for December 4th. But it’d be nice to get the running intervals longer, the walking intervals shorter, and the overall time (and average heartrate) down—at least a little bit. I’ll update this page after each session so we can see together whether I’m successful. Wish me luck! 💪🏃‍♂️

November 28 (Thu)

Thanksgiving day means Turkey Trot at our house, so we braved the cold and put in our 3.1 miles before the eating and merrymakig begins. I ran more than I walked, and I the knees held up well.

| Int (R/W Ratio) | AvgHR | Dist (mi) | Chip Time | AvgPace | Route | Playlist | | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | | 60/30 (0.667) | 165 | 3.1 | 38’56” | 12’32” | Details | 5k 145bpm |

November 22 (Fri)

Ten days since I last ran! Yikes! Added a quarter mile to the total distance and extended the intervals to 60s/45s. Finished strong, feeling pretty good.

Int (R/W Ratio) RunPace WalkPace AvgHR Dist (mi) AvgPace Route Playlist
60/45 (0.571) 10’55” 20’ 156 2.50 13’24” Treadmill (2%) 5k 145bpm

November 12 (Tue)

Knees held up pretty well today, even with the longer running intervals and longer overall distance.

Int (R/W) RunPace WalkPace AvgHR Dist (mi) AvgPace Route Playlist
50/40 (0.556) 10’55” 20’ 161 2.54 13’27” Treadmill (2%) 5k 145bpm

Week of November 4

We traveled to Albuquerque and I tweaked my knee somehow. Also, it was cold as hell in Albuquerque and I didn’t go outside much. Either way, it was a rest week. 😆

November 1 (Fri)

Ran through the last walking interval for a final running segment of 2 minutes. Knees a little grupmy still but holding up well so far. Average heart rate and average pace still coming down so that’s nice.

Int (R/W) RunPace WalkPace AvgHR Dist (mi) AvgPace Route Playlist
40/40 (0.500) 10’55” 20’ 148 2.26 13’37” Treadmill (2%) 5k 145bpm

October 30 (Wed)

Knees were a little cranky but they did okay. Otherwise everything felt pretty good. Would really love it if I could find more 145bpm songs that I like for my playlist.

Int (R/W) RunPace WalkPace AvgHR Dist (mi) AvgPace Route Playlist
40/40 (0.500) 10’55” 20’ 157 2.25 13’55” Treadmill (2%) 5k 145bpm

October 28 (Mon)

Took the weekend off since I was in Maryland visiting friends and we did a lot of walking and playing pickleball. Increased target distance to 2¼ miles today, and decreased walking intervals to 40 seconds. Used treadmill totals today because I feel like the Apple Watch might be underestimating distance on the treadmill.

Int (R/W) RunPace WalkPace AvgHR Dist (mi) AvgPace Route Playlist
40/40 (0.500) 10’55” 20’ 157 2.26 14’06” Treadmill (2%) 5k 145bpm

October 25 (Fri)

Took the workout on the road today, to the gym at the clubhouse at Kent Island. Same intervals, but added a little extra running time at the end because this banger came up on the playlist.

Int (R/W) RunPace WalkPace AvgHR Dist (mi) AvgPace Route Playlist
40/50 (0.444) 10’55” 20’ 152 2.25 14’58” Treadmill (2%) 5k 145bpm

October 23 (Wed)

Lower average pace and average heart rate today. Felt pretty good. Will continue to use Apple Watch numbers solely.

Int (R/W) RunPace WalkPace AvgHR Dist (mi) AvgPace Route Playlist
40/50 (0.444) 10’55” 20’ 152 2.09 15’57” Treadmill (2%) 5k 145bpm

October 21 (Mon)

Increased the run/walk ratio to 40/50, so avg HR is up; Apple Watch underestimates distance (2.05mi) relative to the treadmill (2.35mi), so maybe I should trust the treadmill?

Int (R/W) RunPace WalkPace AvgHR Dist (mi) AvgPace Route Playlist
40/50 (0.444) 10’55” 20’ 159 2.05 16’53” Treadmill (2%) 145bpm

October 19 (Sat)

A slow and easy first session, so keeping everything nice and slow. Felt pretty good, didn’t injure anything. Optimistic.

| Int (R/W) | RunSp (mph) | WalkSp (mph) | AvgHR | Dist (mi) | AvgPace | Route | Playlist | | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :- | | 30/60 (0.333) | 5.0~5.5 | 3.0 | 143 | 2.07 | 16’59” | Treadmill (2%) | 145bpm |

General Notes