Mon, Apr 13, 2020 - 11K - 00:48:14
First IKEA 5K Training Run with Hannah (24:37 / 31:42)
I hadn't run my IKEA 5K timed training loop since December 15, 2019 when I ran a 23:39 and was getting down near my top-ten times (#10 = 23:27) but then suffered a light hamstring pull and so had to stop my 5K training runs in order to make sure I was able to run the Rotterdam Marathon on April 5th. That marathon was postponed anyway, but I felt healthy enough so ran a solo marathon on April 5th, after which my leg felt fine (or as fine as a leg can feel after running 42 kilometers). In any case, I knew it was time to commence the 2020 5K timed-training-run season, and since Hannah said she was thinking about a more challenging training run than the 7K morning run we do, I asked her if she wanted to run my 5K-timed-run with me, to which she responded with her dry, positive response, "Geil."  
 
We got up at 7:00 to run but it was still lightly raining, so we both went back to bed and got up again at 9:00 to no rain, a perfect decision since the weather was then cool, dry and refreshing, only wet on the ground.  
 
Hannah road her bike to the starting line while I did my light 3K preliminary warm-up run alongside. At the start, I got my 5K-Jason-Jollins track cued, said go, we both pressed our stop watches, and took off. The last I saw Hannah behind me was right after I turned at 3K over the Autobahn bridge.  
 
During the run, I felt quite strong and in shape, legs a bit stronger than lungs, but was able to run even the last Bessemerstr. stretch strong and finished with a 24:37, which was within one minute my time where I left off in December, 23:39.  
 
Hannah had gotten a 27:36 in our 5K Spandau race in January when she was in good shape for our 23K in Lyon, so she wanted to get under 30:00 today, came in with only a 31:42, though. But that's why we do 5K sprint runs, to keep a monitor on our fitness. And I imagine we'll be out at the IKEA 5K starting line again soon.