2026 Mebane Dogwood Festival 5K Recap
Last night I ran a 5K and went for a PR. Going into it, I wasn’t sure how fast I could run since I had been doing a lot of marathon-pace efforts over the past few weeks while preparing for my marathon on May 2nd.
Early in my marathon training block, I was doing a lot of speed-focused workouts and was able to run 800m repeats at around 5:20–5:30 pace—and it was really hard.
About four days prior, my Strava 5K prediction dropped from 17:24 to 17:44, which had me questioning whether all the marathon pace and easy miles were affecting my speed. I felt like I could hold around 5:45 pace for 3.1 miles and maybe dip into the 5:30s, but I really wasn’t sure how I would do.
We started at 6:30 PM. It was overcast with a slight breeze, so the humidity wasn’t terrible, but the temperature was around 80°F—still warm.
The buzzer sounded, and off we went. Two other guys went out faster than I did. One of them was younger and fell off pace after about 200 meters. The other guy looked experienced—he was smooth and built a lead of about 20 yards.
I settled into a slightly uncomfortable, comfortable pace (that only makes sense if you’re a runner) and started keeping pace with the leader. At mile 1, he was just a few steps ahead of me, but there was a slight incline and I was able to pass him.
From there, it was a slight downhill for about half a mile, followed by a slight uphill for another half mile. Through that second mile, I maintained the lead.
The last 1.1 miles were mostly flat, and by mile 2.5 my lungs—and my legs—were absolutely on fire. I had to make a choice: keep pushing or back off. If you’re racing hard, you’ll face this moment at some point. Your mind screams at you to slow down or stop, but you get to decide whether or not to listen. At that point, you always have more to give.
I thought about my Strava and Garmin predictions (17:43 & 17:42), and the Goggins quote came to mind: “They don’t know me, son.” That’s what I told myself, and I held on. Coming around the final turn, I gave everything I had and was able to push through, which I was happy about.
Splits:
Mile 1 – 5:28.8
Mile 2 – 5:29.1
Mile 3 – 5:32.8
Last 0.13 – 0:41.3 (5:21 pace)
I crossed the finish line in first place finishing in 17:04.08. My fastest 5K ever and shaved 1:38 off from the year prior.
For reference, my previous fastest mile to date was 5:33. So I ran my three fastest miles ever in this race.
How? Weeks of training, consistent volume, and staying tough when it got hard.
To be clear, I’ve never actually run an all-out mile to see how fast I can go, but I’ve definitely pushed hard at the end of runs to test it.
All I can say is trust the process. You spend weeks building, then allow a few days of tapering to feel fresh on race day and show what you’ve built. The rest, combined with race-day energy, gives you that extra boost.
Now we’ll see what I can do in the marathon next week.
If you’re interested in coaching and a structured plan that produces results, I’m a UESCA-certified running coach. You can reach me through my website below.
https://www.camiamendurancecoaching.com
