2011 Firecracker 5km in Lively (ON)

You can find my full race recap HERE!

In 2 days time I'll be toeing the line in Lively (just outside of Sudbury) for the Lively Firecracker 5km road race. This year's edition is incredibly special to me as my entire family, including 'lil Z, will be taking part in the race!  Years ago when my sister Nat introducing me to running, it instantly became our thing. We were naturally talented (though Nat has always been the harder worker) and we spent most of our high school career running and racing.

Fast forward 10 years now and our younger, not so little anymore, sister Joce is now full on into duathlons, triathlons and road races. She completed her first half marathon this spring and is getting faster and faster with every passing week. So this friday the 3 kids will toe the line, but the magic doesn't end there.

Melanie, my life partner, is now a full fledged runner herself, and Alain, Nat's husband, will also be taking part in the road race.  Add to that a mother who simply can't pass up the chance to exercise and you've got a full family of runners taking part in the 2011 edition of the Firecracker 5km road race! And not to be forgotten, 'lil Z will be joining the fun in his super awesome jogging stroller.

The weather is supposed to be gorgeous over the weekend, with sun and a high of 25C on Friday, so I've got no weather related reasons not to run a blazingly fast time. I have no idea what the course is like, but I imagine it will be paved/gravel, with a few decent hill climbs thrown in for good measure. This is after all up North, nothing like the flat and fast courses we're treated to in Southern Ontario.

So I've got some goals I'd like to hit, and given the fact I'm feeling more fit and confident than I can ever remember, here are some the goals I'd like to knock off in the race:

• Soak in the Family Time: I'm so blessed to have my entire family running the race, and above all, enjoying this special moment is the #1 goal for me.
• Contend for the overall win: Yeah, that's a big one, and something I haven't been able to do since leaving Sudbury for the sunny south some 11 years ago. The races in and around London are just too darn competitive for a runner of my caliber, but up North, I've got a fighting chance...depending on who decides to show up. Last year the race was won in a hair over 16:30, if that's what it takes to win, it will require a massive out of body effort on my part. But hey, it's in my ballpark at least, so I'm through 3km with the intention of winning and seeing what shakes out in the last 2km.
• Crack 17 minutes: Yup, I guess if I plan on winning I will likely need to smash this goal to pieces.  My recent 1500m effort on the track is equivalent to a 9:20 3km, so I figure my aerobic fitness is strong enough to carry me through 5km in under 17...according to the McMillan calculator I should be at 16:15, so we'll see.

And that's that. I'm racing this Friday, with my entire family, and I'm hoping to race fast enough to win.