NHL All Star 5K

As I mentioned in my 2011 goals post, I don't plan on running many races this year in an attempt to stay healthy until the Marine Corps. Marathon at the end of October. So, when the NHL All Star 5K was announced, I wasn't sure whether to run or not. It was only when I ran three tempo miles around 7:00/mile and 12 x 400m a couple of weeks ago that I began to think that I was already in good shape and that I might be able to set a new PR.

I took a look at my Raleigh Rocks Training plan and noticed that I had a 3 x 1600m workout planned for the same week as the 5K. Given that the 5K would only be slightly more effort than the 3 x 1600m workout, I felt comfortable dropping the track session and replacing it with the 5K. I signed up for the race and moved my workouts around so that I had two days of rest before the 5K and a day off afterward.

I took a look at the course map to see what changes had been made since the Canes' run that I did in 2009. I remembered that the first mile was mostly downhill and then the second was a steady incline followed by some rolling hills in to the finish. The course had changed slightly, but overall the profile was similar to the 2009 race. I set myself the following goals (my existing PR was 21:25):
Goal A: < 21:00 (6:45/mile)
Goal B: < 21:25 (6:52/mile)

I felt that 6:45/mile was possible as I had run a number of tempo miles recently at around 7:00/mile pace without really pushing myself - I didn't know whether I'd be able to hold it for 3.1 miles, but I felt it was worth a try. If I wasn't able to hold 6:45/mile, I'd have 6:52 as my backup goal, which would still give me a new PR.

Race day finally arrived and it was a cold (40F, 4C) but sunny day with only a slight breeze. Elizabeth and Jack (at his first race) came to cheer me on and we met up with Tania, Spencer, Ken and Steph' inside the RBC Center before the race. The majority of the runners were local, but I did spot (hear) some French Canadian accents when I was collecting my chip. There were lots of sweaters from other NHL teams, but given the number of transplants that now call the Raleigh area home, that wasn't really surprising.

With 10 minutes to go until the race start we ventured out in to the cold to warm up, I stripped down to the shorts and short sleeved shirt I was going to wear for the race and I set the Virtual Training Partner on my Garmin for 6:45/mile. We finished our stretching with a couple of minutes to go and made our way over to the starting corral to find that it was already jam packed with hundreds of runners! I guess I shouldn't have been surprised as John Forsland (the announcer) had been saying there were 2000 runners (more on that later). I squeezed in with about 250 runners in front of me and decided that it wasn't worth trying to force my way forward.

I bounced around for a couple of minutes and then we were off. I immediately regretted not going further forward in the corral as the crowd slowly made it's way forward and over the timing mats. I had to zig-zag around the slower runners (and amazingly some walkers who decided they needed to start at the front). As the crowd rounded the first corner I glanced at my watch and saw that I was already 10 seconds behind where I needed to be. I moved to the outside and ran around the crowds of slower runners as I finally began to find a rhythm on the downhill. After a quick uphill, downhill section the crowds had thinned out to mostly single file as we ran past Carter Finley stadium and out on to Trinity Road. My watched beeped for a 6:42 first mile and I felt great until we turned the corner and started the steady uphill grind in to the freezing wind.

The uphill section was only a 100ft incline over the space of a mile, but the freezing wind made it feel much harder. I felt my pace dropping and I watched my 3 second advantage turn in to a 17 second deficit by the time I passed the 2 mile marker. I worked hard in the second mile to maintain my form and not panic as I slowed down - I knew there was a nice downhill section coming up and that I should be able to at least run a 6:45 last mile.

We turned the corner from Blue Ridge on to Westchase and the 1/3rd of a mile downhill stretch was right there in front of us. I went as hard as I could down the hill and passed a number of runners who had obviously pushed themselves too hard up the hill. At the bottom of the hill, I glanced at my watch again: 1/2 of a mile to go and a 2 second deficit. I decided to hold back for 1/4 of a mile and then give it everything I had left. We turned the final corner and I pushed as hard as I could. I passed some runners (and my support team - Elizabeth, Jack and Spencer) and then some more as I sprinted to the line and stopped my watch.

Sprinting along the final stretch to the finish line.

Someone removed my chip and I took my first look at my watch, which read 20:42. I did a double and then a triple check. I really did read 20:42. Wow, I had not only broken 21:00, I had smashed it!

I checked my splits: 6:42, 7:04, 6:26, 0:29. I had finally run a 5K the 'correct' way: start hard, consolidate and then finish hard and had been rewarded with a great time. I placed 51/958 overall and 7/60 in my age group.

Here is a link to my Garmin Summary

Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better race. The weather was just how I like it and the course forced me to consolidate in the middle mile and invited a fast final mile with the downhill section before a flat stretch in to the finish. It is a pity that this was a one off race and that the only other time during the year that this course is run is during the heat of the summer.

Today I returned to my scheduled Half Marathon training with a boost in confidence and only 69 more days to go until my next Half Marathon and another PR attempt