I ran my first 5k race last night, the Sri Chinmoy Silverknowes 5k. The course runs from the tea room on Silverknowes esplanade down to the roundabout (which was the turnabout for the Forthside half), back past the start to turnaround some cones and finish by the start. There was a good bit of wind which started behind us, but of course was a headwind in the middle section.

The pain! I found the race hard, my heart was hammering and breathing hard from about 2k. I've not raced the distance before, and not done any speed work ever, so I'd imagine there is plenty of scope to get a good bit faster. Even so, I think my time mostly reflects my recent Marathon, while my legs feel fresh they seem to lack a bit of oomph, and my breathing is a bit quicker than usual to become laboured at easier paces. I'm happy with my time, but you can imagine that I was a little irked at the time to come in...wait for it... 1 second over 20 minutes, the first person to fail to be sub-20 and 2 seconds behind the girl I had been running beside for well over half the race.

Oh well, an obvious goal for next time!