*RECAP* Rock 'n' Roll Montreal 5k
/Hey Dani, RnR Montreal will be moving the 5k from the same time as the half marathon to the day before, which will kick off an inaugural Remix Challenge! Wanna sign up?
After running RnR Montreal half last year, I jumped on the chance to return when I was selected for my 4th run (get it? ;)) as a #RockNBlog ambassador.
So when RnR emailed out that they would be moving the 5k and 1k, I asked the wife to book an extra night because we would be driving up a day early. :P
We hit the expo up Friday afternoon, I SHOULD'VE signed up for the 1k on my first pass through. The 1k would be free for me as a RnR Ambassador and happen about an hour after the 5k. BUT I hesitated and said I'd do it on a second go. But the line was ridiculous so I opted out. Yes I turned away from a weekend of all the bling. ;)
I set out my flat runner just before bed on Friday night and thought, "well this is the perfect time to look up where the 5k starts." Oh it is a few miles away from the hotel we were staying from so this would involve a train ride! Well good thing I looked this up beforehand... or last minute per usual! :)
The wife said she would travel with me so we left the hotel at 7am to allow plenty of time before the 8:30am 5k start. We met up with other runners along the way and even made friends with a fellow Black Sheepie (an online running group for runners traveling to races) Tina. She was in town from Anchorage and had also run a ton of RnR races so it was great chatting with her. And to have another person to navigate the way from the train to the start.
We got there soooo early that we had to time head to find the wife some Redbull. ;) Once she was caffeinated, we made our way towards the corral area. I had high ambitions for the race and put my PR time in, which landed me in corral 1. That wouldn't be the case on this day.
My plan for the weekend was to have as much fun as possible during both races.
The wife and I were listening to the announcer yell out instructions in French. He was rapid fire with his speech and we wondered how he was breathing during that.
Thankfully we could peace enough together to keep track of what was going on. Oh and don't worry Garmin is Garmin in any language. ;)
I gave the wife a good luck kiss and I did a last-minute stretch before we were off.
I lined myself up at the back of the first corral, but as soon as I hit the Start Line I regretted that. I started bobbing and weaving right from the get go. Luckily as soon as we got out of the park and took the left to the street, the pack thinned out and I was able to get into a groove.
It was humid, but I felt like my legs were ready to fly for the first time in awhile. It was time to let them see what they could do. I knew it wouldn't be a PR, but I wanted to see what the legs had. Maybe sub-8's would be a treat.
Don't worry folks I was still focusing on enjoying every second of it. But as we were heading down the street, I noticed an incline ahead of us blocked off by barricades. I made a mental note as I fully expected us to encounter that on the backside. Haha. It's not my first rodeo, right?
I hit the one mile mark and was pumped to see the pace was in the 7s! YAY! Now to hold that up because again I knew I would be taking the half nice and easy the following day.
Mile 1: 7:39
The bands were crushing it on the course! Thanks for having 2 out there that you could hear throughout the entire race.
As we headed towards Mile 2, I was leapfrogging with a 10/11 year old. I was encouraging him along the way. As he ran ahead of me, I turned to the woman next to me and said: "Oh to be young when you won't feel this race tomorrow." Thankfully she laughed. Not everyone find me humorous during races, especially when running at this pace.
Ohhh Mile 2 was right around Mile 1 pace. I rarely have this type of consistency during a race since I am all over the place when it comes to photo-ops, etc.
Mile 2: 7:38
And just so you all know I called it. That incline I saw during Mile 1 came back into view during one of the final turns of the race. There was about a half mile or so left and I tried to give that incline my all. I celebrated with a little dance break with the band.
Why not, right? It looks like that little dance break only cost me 3-4 seconds off the first 2 miles.
Mile 3: 7:42
I gave it everything I had in the tank at the end and luckily I had some left. I even look like I know what I'm doing in the pic that the wife took just before I crossed the Finish Line.
FINAL TIME: 24:08 (7:47 min/mile pace)
With my 5k PR at 21:46, I was nowhere near that. But I felt the best I had in quite awhile during that 5k. I've been battling knee and IT band pain for awhile so it was nice to go out there and see a glimpse of me from a few years ago.
I was also ecstatic with how I placed.
Man what could've been if I had pushed it a little more. Well we can't live in a case of the shoulda, coulda, wouldas - am I right?
Overall, it was a great morning. The course had great support from bands, volunteers and spectators the entire time. There were ample post-race snacks available. The bling was on point. Start was easy to get to.
If you are running the 10, half or full in Montreal, I highly recommend adding the 5k to your weekend. It's a great shakeout run for sure!
Disclaimer: I did receive complimentary entry into this race as a RockNBlog ambassador, but all opinions are my own. Ain't nobody got time for lyin'!
