From my runbikerace.wordpress.com blog. See the report with photos here by clicking here
Last year, this was my goal race to log a sub-20 minute 5K time on a certified course. I was sure I had it locked up until I was hit with some sort of apocalyptic 24 hour flu bug. I lost about 5 lbs in a day and knew there was no way I could race the next day. After missing the Confederation Park 5K when my son was born, I had to fight the hills at the Beamsville Bench 5K to get that sub-20. Fast forward to this year and I was excited to see what I could do on the Jordan course which is reputed to be a fast one.
For Jordan in 2012 I had a new goal of setting a 5K PB (<18:47) but given how unexpectedly consistent my running had been this winter/spring, I had real hopes that I could go under 18 minutes. This time was my sole focus, as I had seen the times from past years and read Daniel MacKinnon’s race report from last year and had written off an age group podium spot even if I made my time goal.
Off the start the pace was high (as I expected) so after a few hundred meters I checked my garmin and decided to mentally detach myself from the race and run only based on how I was feeling. There were only a few runners around me after the 2k point, and I was maintaining a pace I was very happy with and still feeling strong. I had my doubts that I could carry the pace to the finish, but before I knew it I was coming up on 4 km. I reminded myself how short 1 km was and that I could keep the tempo high for that much longer. Coming through the last 500 metres I was closing in on the female runner ahead of me, but (thankfully) realized she was the lead woman. I didn’t push to get ahead of her in the finishing chute where they had already pulled across the tape! I crossed in 17:31. I was very happy with that time, especially since I felt like I had maintained a smart, steady pace for the duration.
I stopped to get some congratulatory hugs from my kids and then ran back along the course to find my wife who was closing in on a PB as well. I urged her to keep going, and then made it back to the finish line in time to see her get in under her goal time. They announced that they would be presenting awards shortly, and at the last minute I decided to run into the arena and check the times. I was very surprised to see that I was 2nd in my age group, and since 1st was also 3rd overall, I ended up first in 30-34. Definitely unexpected but great to get a medal and some series points.
After the race there was some great BBQ food and an easter egg hunt for the kids. Overall it was another excellent Subaru Niagara race, and I am happy to report that the tradition Jerry Friesen built is going strong with the new organizers. This is definitely a great race to post a 5K PB… as long as your off season hasn’t left you too deep in hibernation!
Funny that I stumbled across this article because my brother in law was just talking about you lol. We were swimming at the Y yesterday and he told me, that damn Kent Keeler got faster this year. He told me his goal was to beat you this year but when he checked the times and you still beat him by a minute and placed ahead of him in your age category he was livid. I just posted this on his fb wall… very funny stuff, great running Kent. If you need a chapter of your running team in the St. catharines/niagara falls, my brother in law (Rob Lapensee) and I would love to join the Running Free team.
Simply well done. Great to read the Series is picking up where it left off. Will see you at a race this year.
Thanks for the comments Philip and Dan. Philip – I’ll be nervous now, knowing that your brother in law is using me as motivation! Although I think the biggest part of what went right for me this time was blocking out the race around me (at least about 90%) and concentrating on how I felt so that I was ready to make minor adjustments to my effort before I blew up. This resulted in a consistent effort that I have struggled to maintain in the past.
I think we’ll need someone to open an RF store in Niagara if we want a full team down here!