Race Preview: 2011 Springbank Road Races 5km

Well, its official. I've signed up for my first second road race of the fall racing season. I had signed up for the Ingersoll Harvest 10km road race two weeks ago, but decided to can that and put in a solid workout effort on Saturday instead.  Sorry Robbie!

But this time its on. I've signed up for the 5km road race at the Springbank Road Races and I'm mentally stronger than ever, ready to be sharp come race day. I've been putting in tons of quality work over the last month, but to be honest, I'm not sure how that will factor into this weekend's race. Is it still too early to reap the benefits of my first 100km/week training block? Are my legs still feeling the killage? Or am I now super human and ready to PB this early in the season?

This time last year I was happy just to break 20 minutes for 5km, heck I had run 43:27 for 10km and was very satisfied with the effort. So this year I'm coming in with new goals, and if my legs can carry me at the speed I want to sustain, I'll be looking at a new Personal Best on Sunday.  My mental edge is there, I'm ready to race and I'm more confident than I've ever been.

So, as is customary, its time for me to put down some concrete goals for the race. I'm pretty much going to re-hash my goals from the Summer Night 5km, in which I fell short on nearly every account.

• Crack 16:40 (A), 16:48 (B), 17:00 (C) for 5km.
• Place top 3 Overall  and 1st in Age Group
• Finish Strong in the uphill finish.
• Have Fun.

So that's about it for my race. Racing that day is my partner Melanie, making her debut in the Half Marathon! I can't wait to cheer her on as she aims to break 2:30 for the distance. I've also got plenty of clubmates racing the 5km, and a few racing the half marathon with hopes of winning.

To everyone racing the 2011 Springbank Road Races,

!!!GOOD LUCK!!!