One of my main goals of 2012 is to break 22 minutes in a 5km race. I came close in my other two 5km races this year, with 22:30 for a 5km that was measured 150m long and then 22:10 on a tough hilly course. After my struggles in the Alterna "do it for Dad" 10km race last month I targeted this race as my bounce-back race and a great opportunity to cross the sub-22 goal off my 2012 targets. After Alterna I got in more speed work in warm conditions in preparation for Canada day which is usually a hot day and with the race starting close to 9am I could expect temperatures in the mid to high 20s.
Sure enough it was very warm when I arrived in Kanata at the Earl of March School. I did a light warm up and then soaked my buff in cold water to keep my head cool and then headed to the start line. I was a little apprehensive as it was warm and I didn't know if I had it in me to run hard in these conditions.
I got off to a great start and felt calm and comfortable as I tried to keep my pace around 4:15/km. My friend Andy greeted me just after the first turn and sped off ahead of me, he was going faster than my goal-pace so I just let him go and kept him in sight. I hit the 1km mark in 4:12 and felt great so I was well on pace to go sub 22 minutes.
The second kilometer was a little slower (4:23) but I just focused on maintaining an even effort and getting myself to the finish.
The next kilometer came and went without incident (4:22) but as I approached the water station just past the 3km mark another runner cut right in front of me to grab a cup of water and stopped dead. Somehow I managed to avoid a huge collision, by moving even further to the left verge and we clashed shoulders and I stumbled to stay on my feet. Luckily I was able to steady myself and get back on pace. I did a quick check to make sure no damage had been done and quickly forgot the incident and started to prepare for the closing stages of the race.
I knew I was well on pace and decided to pick it up with 1km to go and pick off as many runners as I could. The finish straight was around one final corner and I told myself to go as fast as could along that stretch. My plan worked well as I went by a number of tiring runners (and some walkers from the 10km race). In the final straight I bore down on the line, I had no idea what my race time was as I could only see the 10km race clock (apparently there was a 5km clock too but I didn't see it). I hit the line and stopped the Garmin. It was several minutes before I looked at my race time as I was concentrating on staying upright (with the help of a barrier) and not puking. In had given it everything I had and when I finally looked at the Garmin I was elated to see that I had indeed gone sub 22 with a stellar personal best of 21:22!!
Kilometer splits
1km - 4:12
2km - 4:23
3km - 4:22
4km - 4:22
5km - 4:00
All in all a great way to celebrate Canada day and a race that has given me a great deal of confidence to hit my targets for 10km and Half Marathon later in the year.
