Belmar 5 mile curse has been lifted

The Belmar 5 curse has been lifted. I have run this race 4 years in a row pretty much consistent times never really doing well vs. other 5 mile races including George Sheehan race 3 weeks earlier.

Weather: Typical July 8:30 am start 73 degrees with 90% humidity and all sun. Winds heading 5-10mph north west which was felt a bit during mile 3 and parts of 4.

Goal A: Sub 35
Goal B: NEW PR sub 35:13
Goal C: Set Course record and go sub 36

Parking was a bitch today had to walk about a mile to the start but that is because I got there only 30 min to spare.

Mile 1: I ran this mile perfectly coming in at 6:58 split. Legs were feeling very good I was keeping to a quick and short stride feeling I would lengthen as I progressed. This seemed to help keep my HR down.

Mile 2: started to feel the humidity and heat and lost some time here 7:03 split but was still in contention of sub 35.

Mile 3: This was a tough mile it was headed not only in a headwind but the sun was directly beating down on the front of my body. I ran behind someone for most of it but lost time here clocking 7:09. At this point I felt sub 35 was out of the question. And now I was just running to maintain some type of decent time.

Mile 4: The wheels felt good but the heart was giving out I just did not seem to have the stamina during this mile to maintain 7 min mile. I consciously slowed down to wear I felt mile 5 would be somewhat strong. Clocked 7:16.

Mile 5: Honestly at the start of mile 5 I figured PR was gone and now I am just holding on for sub 36. But mile 5 consisted of some shade and eventually heading away from the sun with a no wind at our face. I suddenly felt a second wind and was clocking 7 min pace. At this point I was passing a few people and the last .35 miles I felt like I had a strong sprint in me. I hit 5:19 at my fastest point and clocked a stellar 6:48 pace.

The last .5 mile heads straight so you can see the finish line banners it looks close but it ain't. As I got closer I looked at my watch and say 34:13 34:30 and then pushing it with all I got as I saw the time ahead it said 35:08 09 11 and just could not get there for a new pr.

Hit the finish line at 35:16 (unofficial). Missed PR by 3-4 seconds but set a new course record by 1:28.

Overall this was a great race for me and felt quite successful considering the history of my times (see below) and the weather. I have no doubt in cooler weather low 34's are mine. I hit my watch off a few seconds after crossing make sure I get a good photo finish with my new TEAM365 Singlet.

Tomorrow 12 miles and Tuesday starts official 14-19 week multi-marathon training with a new blog. Now that is exciting.

Nice improvement. Hard to set PR's in the heat so great solid performance, Kenny. Way to go!

Nice course PR - maybe that mile walk to the start really helped!

Nice job on the race, Kenny.

Nice!

Curse B Gone!

Thanks for the report and congrats!!! Where did that last mile come from? That is a solid improvement from the previous years - I know it took a lot of work to get there. Great job.

Great race! Congratulations on the course PR! Looking forward to your new blog.

A great strong finish! Well run Kenny.

YAY Kenny! So happy for you!!

Great job Kenny in that humidity.

Nice finish, Kenny - wish I had that in me yesterday! The curse is gone now - so on to that crazy marathon training. Can't wait to follow along.

Thanks everyone! I just looked up the OFFICIAL TIME: 35:15 missed a new PR by 3 seconds. I certainly think I had it in me to make up that 3 seconds somewhere. Just starting my kick a bit earlier would have made the difference. I will remember that next time!