14 May
2:17pm, 14 May 2026
50,798 posts
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SPR
Very nice work @BathMatt and congrats on the PB. I had the same feeling on a start line yesterday and it rained 10 mins before my race (800), but didn't get the reward you got 🤣 @J2R good work. All you can do is be consistent with your training and hopefully the progress comes or you see where tweaks can be made. I should be running 5000 at track league on Saturday all being well. I want it to be a controlled run but whether it ends up that way will depend on a number of factors including fitness and recovery. 4:24.59 for 1500 last Saturday and 2:13.06 for 800 yesterday suggests endurance might be better than speed currently but isn't what I'd normally do before an all out 5000, hence the control plan but I'm now a scoring runner rather than a guest so it could end up less controlled than planned. |
14 May
3:27pm, 14 May 2026
2,946 posts
|
stuart little
Nice work Matt, and congrats on the PB. SPR, enjoy the 5000 at the weekend. |
16 May
8:59am, 16 May 2026
362 posts
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BathMatt
Thanks folks. @J2R top work - 18:30 definitely within reach, then who knows what the body will allow! @SPR good luck today. I had the classic reminder of aging the day after the 5k. My back twanged just standing looking over my daughter’s shoulder. Just about able to train through, but first few miles of every run are very slow until it loosens up. Nothing for granted! |
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16 May
10:15pm, 16 May 2026
50,863 posts
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SPR
Official time TBC (no official times yet as electronic timing didn't turn up) but definitely sub 17 with 16:50 (maybe 16:49) today. Race split into two main packs with four of the front, and (at least) seven including me in the second pack. One guy led our pack for about 4.5 laps (I'd been hoping for 3:20 per km to 3000, it was a bit slower but there was never any thought of forcing it). I had worked up to second in the group over the first couple of laps so when the group leader slowed and I was level, it was either slow myself and take it on. Decided to take it on, increasing the pace slightly, hoping to drop as many as possible. With 4 laps to go, another runner came past, plus the previous group leader but that was all that was left of the group. I had felt ok till that point, but them coming through showed my legs weren't responding as well as I felt up to then (guess that's the previous races in the last week catching up as well as the effort of taking it on). Stuck on the back and went past the previous group leader immediately when he started losing contact (legs responded well here). Come the last lap though, couldn't really change pace so the other guy pulled away but I had enough of a gap behind to be safe. So felt in control for 8.5 laps, with 4 laps where I needed to work to maintain contact which was lost on the final lap. Happy enough with the effort and should be some training benefit for future races. Couldn't use this race to target something significantly faster though. HR max being in the 3rd km (that being said says legs were more an issue today as expected but hard to say how much difference they made. |
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18 May
9:17pm, 18 May 2026
363 posts
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BathMatt
Good work @SPR - sounds like you ran it sensibly and couldn’t have realistically expected more. The 3rd km Hr high is interesting though. Like you said, probably just the nature of that race and recent race context - but potentially could be a good sign if that peak wasn’t ridiculously high? |
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18 May
9:53pm, 18 May 2026
50,877 posts
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SPR
Thanks @BathMatt. In regards to the HR I've added the Garmin HR Vs pace chart below. It's odd as I don't think I've seen that before in a race but jumps around when I took it up despite the pace chart looking like I'm doing a nice gradual wind up (checked and it isn't cadence lock) and stays fairly elevated till just past 3000, before dropping a bit as I seem to hit the max pace of my wind up and drop off a little. It was 190-192 for about the first minute there which I wouldn't want to hold but then dropped to more reasonable mid to high 180s for the rest of the higher block, before dropping to 180 when the pace dropped which is lower than I'd normally be for 5000 effort at that point. Suggests additional effort was costly on the day and then couldn't be maintained so glad I didn't go for a 1500 instead! Also explains why the other runner came past me on the home straight with 4 to go given the pace dropping on the lap with 5 to go. Also interesting to see the pace spike when I had to go round the runner as he dropped off the pack leader which shows I was right about the legs responding well there. |
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19 May
1:03pm, 19 May 2026
364 posts
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BathMatt
Definitely an unusual middle segment! Even allowing for some lag - it feels like the move to take the lead might have been as much mentally decisive as physiologically - so HR jumps in the same way mine does when I have to dodge a dog or idiot on the canal - more annoyance / surprise than actual effort - but then recovers and remains surprisingly stable during the wind up to 10 minutes. The way it drops so quickly and then climbs so smoothly does agree with the 'more knackered than broken' response over the final section. Similarly, interesting that the pace spike didn't lead to a HR response too - which also probably supports you just being limited by the legs rather than fitness. |
19 May
1:40pm, 19 May 2026
6,553 posts
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J2R
@SPR, can't help but think that might be an HR misreading artefact, where the sensor loses skin contact for a short period. It jumps so quickly to a number which could well be your cadence before settling back down again, also quite abruptly to where your HR would be had it done the slow steady climb it was doing before.
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19 May
2:33pm, 19 May 2026
28,806 posts
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larkim
That sort of brief period of sustained elevation is what I saw in my son's HR trace and prompted me to suggest he sometimes ran with two HRMs to see if it was indeed an artefact or actual data. Turned out to be actual data, and ended up with a diagnosis of paroxysmal tachycardia which the consultant concluded was "highly unlikely to be dangerous" (phew). When he's at full tilt running, if he has an episode like that he can't detect it other than perhaps sometimes feeling he doesn't have quite as much left in his legs at that point. If he gets an episode on an easy run it is more noticeable. It's a simple enough exercise to do, to add the "auxHR" data field to a watch and then run with both the watch measuring HR and the chest strap or armband optical reader also doing the measurement to see if it is a genuine reading or not. Not posting to try to worry or medicalise anyone btw, but the graph did look reasonably similar. (He's shooting for sub 15 this weekend, so it's not cramped his style!) |
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19 May
5:03pm, 19 May 2026
50,878 posts
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SPR
@BathMatt mentally decisive is a good shout as I felt forced into it but didn't want to just be a sitting target hence wanting to up the pace to drop others. It proved to be the right move with hindsight but there was some risk as I didn't know my competitors so I was choosing a strategy without knowing their strengths/ weaknesses which could have backfired so there were definitely some nerves around taking it on even though I never doubted it was the right thing to do. @J2R it wasn't cadence and it lines up pretty well with changes in the race. You might be right that it's dodgy data but the increase in effort felt like more than the pace chart shows even if the HR chart jump is bigger than expected. @larkim I've used auxHR before for comparing chest to armband. Don't think I'd bother with it in this instance though as I wouldn't bother comparing my watch to the Polar Verity strap (which is what I used in the race) and I wouldn't wear a chest strap in a race. If I notice something in training, I might do a chest Vs armband test. Interesting that the data looks like what your son has had and he has a diagnosis which hasn't been an issue which is good. I've never seen this before and I don't think I've missed it in a race as I would generally review that data. Could miss it in training in an easy run for example but will keep an eye on things just in case. |
About This Thread
Maintained by SPR
Fastest 5k thread on Fetch. For those aspiring to Sub 18 (even if it is a stretch goal/ long shot) or that have achieved it.
2026 Achievers
Brunski
2026 Aspirers
allmatthew
Gobi
J2R
Larkim
Windsor Wool
rhb
BeeDeeVV
2026 Sub 17 or faster
BathMatt
Stuart Little
SPR
2026 Sub 17 or faster aspirers
Chris
2026 Achievers
Brunski
2026 Aspirers
allmatthew
Gobi
J2R
Larkim
Windsor Wool
rhb
BeeDeeVV
2026 Sub 17 or faster
BathMatt
Stuart Little
SPR
2026 Sub 17 or faster aspirers
Chris
Useful Links
FE accepts no responsibility for external links. Or anything, really.Related Threads
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| RW sub3/3.15 Jun 2026 |
| The Sub 3:15 Marathon Thread Jun 2026 |
| The sub 3.30 marathon thread Jun 2026 |
| Sub-4hr marathon support and celebration thread May 2026 |
| Sub 3Hr Marathon May 2026 |
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