How to Pace Your First 5K Time Trial

Alexis is running her first-ever 5K time trial and the whole Marathon Handbook crew is showing up to document it. In this episode of For Better or For Worse, Alex and Alexis break down exactly how a beginner runner should prepare for a race-pace effort: pre-race fueling, sleep, shoe choice, and a full pacing strategy to chase a sub-30-minute (and maybe sub-29!) 5K. Plus: weird interactions on the run, the headphones-or-not debate, an update on Alex's build toward the Canadian Half Marathon Championships, and a listener Q&A on getting your partner into running. Chapters: 0:00 Intro: setting the "annoying pacer" ground rules 0:59 Welcome to For Better or For Worse 1:15 Weirdest run interactions: cat calls & a street preacher 7:57 Headphones on the run: yes or no? 11:31 Today's topic: Alexis's first 5K time trial 13:22 What actually is a "time trial"? 15:36 The plan: the MH crew descends on Toronto Beaches 17:34 Alexis walks through her full pre-race routine 21:31 Sleep, rituals, and pre-race nerves 25:40 Race morning fueling and timing 29:00 Shoe rotation: Asics, Saucony, or Hoka? 30:13 Building Alexis's pacing strategy 33:11 Why even pacing beats a fast start 38:53 New challenge: sub-30 to sub-29 42:45 Alex plans how to be the "annoying" pacer 45:33 Alex's training update: 150km week & marathoner hunger 48:48 Prepping for the Canadian Half Marathon Championships 49:38 Balancing wedding season with marathon training 55:00 Listener Q&A: getting your partner into running 1:02:32 Comment section: the ice cream fueling debate 1:04:10 Karaoke song picks for Alex's bachelor party 1:09:00 Wrap-up: predict Alexis's 5K time Subscribe to our newsletter: https://marathonhandbook.com/newsletter/ Join Marathon Handbook’s RunClub for access to our members-only podcast, training plans, community rooms, merch and more: https://marathonhandbook.com/runclub Shop Marathon Handbook merch: https://store.marathonhandbook.com