PBN Team Member, Craig Segal, defended his '08 win at the prestigious Spring Lake 5 on May 23^rd.
He was kind enough to share his race report below…

Spring Lake 5 Mile Run – May 23^rd 2009
Spring Lake, NJ
Overall Time:  24:54 (4:59 per mile)
1^st Place overall
Full results posted here.

One of the greatest, long standing running traditions at the Jersey shore is the annual running of the Spring Lake 5 Miler.  The race usually draws around 9,000 people, and since it is run on Memorial Day weekend, it is considered the official 'kick-off' to the Summer racing series. The course is fairly flat and usually draws good competition making the race a fairly good barometer of your fitness.  There are always a great number of folks who come out to cheer which is always appreciated.

Going into this years race I was extremely excited.  I had won this race the previous year and knew I was in much better shape this time around. That said, you never know who is going to show up to the race.  In doing a bit of research before the race, it sounded like there were going to be a couple of guys that were around my fitness level.  Knowing this, I had set two goals for myself:

Break 25 minutes and/or win the race.

Pre Race:

After a 5:30 AM wake up I made the usually English muffin with peanut butter, half cup of cereal and my Multi-V. After finishing up breakfast I mixed up some Gatorade Endurance and sipped on that and a mix of water on the car ride down from Holmdel to Spring Lake with my good friends Nick Pellegrino and Pat D'Alessandro.  We pulled into Spring Lake a bit before 7AM and walked down to the tent to get our bib numbers.  After returning, we ran into Bobby Cannon, a good friend of mine dating back to high school/college (Bobby ran for Haverford while I was down at Villanova).

After we all convened, we went out at 7:30AM (an hour before the 8:30 start) for a nice easy 20 minutes around Spring Lake.  While warming up, we all could feel that it was getting hotter out as time passed and we hoped it would stay cool enough for some comfortable racing weather.  

After finishing up the warm up, we did some stretching, strides all while sipping on Gatorade Endurance. I could tell that it was going to be hot during the race so I wanted to make sure to get some extra fluids in before the start. Once we finished up our stretching/strides we headed down to the starting line.

As I said earlier, you never know who is going to show up and how the race will play out.  In talking to Nick before the race, his plan was to get through 3-4 miles at or below 5 minute pace to help me out.  He was only planning to run 3-4 at this pace since he has been battling with some pain in his hamstring over the past few months.  We had agreed that if no one else takes the pace, the two of us would work together to keep it honest at a sub-25 clip.

Race:

As the foghorn blew to send the 2009 Spring Lake 5 underway both Nick and I jumped out to an early lead, with the lead pack funneling in behind us.  The early pace felt comfortable as we headed north on Ocean Ave. for about a mile.  Before turning inland we rolled through the first mile in 4:52 - a touch faster than I wanted to be, but comfortable at the same time.

Mile 1 - 4:52

As we headed inland the lead pack was Nick, myself and 3 other runners (including Dave Slavinski - an elite triathlete and the third place finisher from last year).  The lead had continuously changed hands back and forth between Nick, myself and the other runners as we came through 2 miles in 9:50 (4:58 mile).

Mile 2 - 4:58 (9:50)

At this point the pace had started to slow a bit but I was still fairly comfortable.  The group was down to Nick, Dave, myself and another runner.  We ran through some of the neighborhoods of Spring Lake and rapidly approached the 3 mile mark at 14:51.  

Mile 3 - 5:01 (14:51)

I was not feeling too bad but I felt like I couldn't really get into a good rhythm.  As we hit 3 mile in the middle of Spring Lake, Nick made a strong surge to the front to try and keep the pace honest and to attempt to put some space between ourselves and the other runners.  I responded well but also told him "easy, easy" as I would still be comfortable to wait and make my move in the last mile.  Running through the middle of Spring Lake after you hit mile 3 is always exciting as crowds line the streets cheering on the runners.

As we approached mile 4 the pack was now down to Nick, Dave and I which felt familiar as we were the top 3 finishers at last years event as well.  We came through the 4 mile mark in 20:02.

Mile 4 - 5:10 (20:02)

The pace had slowed a bit, but I wasn't concerned as I had put myself in a good position to run under 25 minutes and win the race.  Nick pulled off the course at 4 miles and started yelling at me for encouragement - "2:04!" he yelled as a reminder to me of my finishing strength (we had done a track workout the week before closing our last 800 interval in 2:04). I honestly wish Nick would have finished as he was extremely comfortable through 4 miles and we certainly would have finished together.

Now that Nick had dropped of it was just Dave and I.  As we headed through the first 400 of the last mile Dave had made a strong surge while up along side of me.  I knew taking the race was not going to be easy as Dave is an extremely tough competitor and has historically performed well at Spring Lake.  In my mind I just told myself to match every move, and once I decide to make my move, make it definitively.  With about a 1,000 meters to go the course makes two sharp left turns before heading northbound Ocean Ave. Around each of those turns I threw in hard surges, and ultimately made the final turn onto Ocean Ave alone.  I had close to 700 meters to make a strong drive to the finish and enjoy the loud crowd that lined the final stretch.  Closing over the final hundred meters I tried to remain as relaxed as possible, while still running fast. I wound up closing in 4:52 and broke 25:00 with a new road PR of 24:54.

Mile 5 - 4:52 (24:54)

Post Race:

After getting back to the car to change clothes/shoes I ran into Bobby and Tim Mulligan.  We did an easy cool-down of 20 minutes around Spring Lake.  After finishing up some stretching I took in some orange flavored Endurox R4, packed up and headed home.  All in all, I walk away from Spring Lake 5 2009 with a positive outlook on my training, fitness and future. I am looking forward to the upcoming summer races as I believe the consistent training over the brutal winter months will pay off over the upcoming weeks.

-Craig
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