sub 18, or low 18 5k

Going out too fast will kill your chances.

Even splitting is optimal but people often find this difficult. Try and save yourself a bit in the first mile and then start going hard with 2 miles to go. The worst thing you can do is run too fast the first mile and then die a slow death over the final 2 miles.

OK so would you say I should shoot for a 5:50 first mile?I've ran 11:30 2 miles before and absouloutley blew up in mile 3 when I PR'd the last time. Never been sub 18 but I believe i'm near my breakthrough.

I think it's a pretty flat course, although I dont know it that well, it may be hard to pull off a good time. Just going to go w/ the flow.

Go out at 18:10 pace and pick it up in the last mile if you can.

I have always ran my best times when focused on racing and being in the moment as opposed to looking at my watch. Being aware of the moment is the most important facet of racing. Start out confident but relaxed and get a sense of the flow. Start running down tee shirts and be tactical. Make it a game, see how many people you can catch and pass. When you get to the last mile, run with the mindset that no one is going to catch you and run with reckless abandon and keep repeating this mantra "i am going to keep my foot on the gas no one is catching me today". This works and is more fun than being a slave to the clock.

Age Grouper wrote: When you get to the last mile, run with the mindset that no one is going to catch you and run with reckless abandon and keep repeating this mantra "i am going to keep my foot on the gas no one is catching me today". This works and is more fun than being a slave to the clock.

That mantra is way too long. You need a shorter one.

"Hammer. Hammer. Hammer." Something like that.

Also, in the last 1/2 mile of the race or so, I sometimes like to count my steps up to ten. You just have to focus on ten steps at a time. Short segments that you can concentrate on and make sure your pace, form, etc, isn't flagging.

I know you have already run the race, but for next time: Wear a Garmin watch or similar, and go out at exactly the intended pace for the first mile. When I first got one back in the day, I was literally shocked at how slow it seemed for the first km or so - and especially for the first two minutes. I ran a PR.

After that eye-opener, I realized that by utilizing a grip on proper pacing, I felt like I was getting a mile (or at least the first km) almost for free - it felt like I was warming up as compared to running by feel, when I gave it 'race effort' from the get-go, not fully understanding that it really should feel easier than most people think in the first five minutes or so of the raced (if you are an 18-minute guy).

Another thing that really helped me was to not be afraid to fully warm up. I used to run a nervous mile or so, then I went from the low 18s to high 17s by doing the above, but also by beginning the practice of running the entire course slowly before the race. I'd do it in about 24-25 minutes, timing it so that I would end this warm-up with under 10 minutes to go before race time. Then I would take time to get to the start, get ready, and do some strides for the final minutes. At first I was apprehensive, thinking I was wasting energy, but it really worked for me. I was able to fully warm up my working muscles, and also focus on what needed to be done, alone with my thoughts. Not to mention having a complete understanding of the course I was about to race. YMMV.

You are absolutely correct, my mantra is way too long. It would suck to lose a race because your mantra was longer than your competitor. Usually I shorten it to "pedal to the metal" or I sometimes I also use "go time" when I start my final push to the finish.

As my friend told me "even pace not even effort". That's how you race. I used to blast the first mile and hang on the last 2.1. Even or negative splitting lead to a huge breakthrough for me.

For you, 550 1st mile. 2nd mile give or take 2 seconds of the first mile. As you get stronger during the season your 2nd mile will get closer to 550. Then on the 3rd mile keep running at 550 pace. Then with about 800 to go start picking up the pace gradually until with 100-200 to go you're in a flat out sprint. That strategy worked well for me when I broke 17. Effort wise you'll feel like you're jogging and going too slow the first mile but when you get the mile split you'll be able to calm down cuz you're on pace. Then you start gradually feeling fatigue come in during the 2nd mile. Around 1 and a half miles you start feeling tired. At 2 miles you get that voice in your head saying you want to quit. Then the pain doesn't really get worse cuz you shut it out and focus on running and priming up for the final half mile. Then you pick it up and it hurts but you ignore the pain. Then the final sprint everything you got left, feel like you can't breath but finish the race in a good time.

Also, don't be afraid to surge during the race if tactically beneficial. Doubling pacing and surging brought me to new levels. Surges just are anywhere from 5 seconds to 60 seconds when someone you're keying off of begins to slow down even if ever so slightly then you surge up to the next guy or group of guys. Keep this up until you drop all the people who don't know how to pace. Around 2 miles you're up to the smart runners who ran pace and you duke it out with them. After a surge make sure you return to race pace, people make the mistake of going slower than race pace after a surge. If you do it right, after a surge race pace feels like jogging and feels like recovery before the next surge. I've done as many as 10 surges in a race before. If you can develop the surge it makes racing so much more fun and makes you harder to beat.

The surge is a formidable tool the can lead to great things and is key to a good tactical race. It is the one weapon you can use to out fox your competitors. You run up on an opponent, get feel of their pace and fatigue and then hit em with the surge. See how they respond, do they match you or fall off. That is an example of racing in the moment and the decisions you make in those moments determines a lot. Be too aggressive early, you could bonk. Be too measured, you end up kicking for 4th place.

Yea I ran the race yesterday in 18:38. My watch said the course was 3.2. It was a certified course w/ a lot of turns. So maybe i'm closer to sub 18 then I think? Went out in 5:48, which I guess was a little to hard hit mile 2 in 11:48ish..Oh well still plenty of season left to give it another whirl.