The other day I ran 3.01 miles in just a little over 27 minutes! This was pretty exciting for two reasons. 1) I just had two fillings replaced and my mouth was so sore that all I really wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep it off. 2) One of my running goals for this year is to run a 5k in 27 minutes or less and this run was as close as I have come to that goal!
Getting so close to my 5k goal time got me thinking about PRs and what counts as a PR. For me, only races count as PRs. If I PR on a training run I am super excited about it but I don’t consider it to be a PR until I can duplicate the performance in a race. There is just something about the nerves of race day, running with fellow runners, wearing a timing chip and crossing a finish line that makes a race seem PR worthy. Training runs are more controlled and are more low key than races and for those reasons I do not consider my run times to be official PRs.
What about you? What counts as a PR? Just races or races and training runs?
Good question. I never thought about it. Personally I don’t get hung up on PRs since it’s no big deal for me. =)
That’s an entirely different perspective on PRs that I didn’t consider! I’m too competitive not to think about time but I don’t use it as the only measure of a good run.
Great question! My husband has always said to me “a PR has to be a documented race time”….because sometimes if my watch is a few seconds faster than the race clock I try to go by my watch haha I guess it all depends on what your own opinion is…
Lol That’s true! I always run with my Garmin and that’s the initial time I see at the finish. But its not always close to the “official” time.
Interesting. I guess I’ve never really thought about it. Maybe there are official and unofficial PRs? And sometimes I think it’s even more awesome to PR when you’re not racing!
I had someone say a race is a PR and a training run is a personal best. I thought that was a neat way of looking at it.
For myself, I only go with races, but…I can say I always run my fastest in races, plus I’ve been at it so long that I’m not really going to see PRs in training very often any more. I think a PR is a PR no matter what–however you want to count it!
I’m usually fastest in races too. Racing with others helps that.
I still consider myself a novice runner, and I don’t run enough races to aim for PRs regularly, so at this stage in my running, PRs can happen anytime
That’s great! How long have you been running?
Since last October, sporadically. So it’s been a while but I’m still in the 3-4 mile phase
That one year mark will be here before you know it! And 3-4 miles is just fine! In fact, my favorite runs are around the 3 mile mark.
It only counts as a PR on a measured course. I also feel great when I hit a goal on a training run but I don’t consider it a PR, just encouragement.
Agreed!!!