Plan for Thrill of the Grill 5k

Tomorrow morning I'll race for a 5k PR. These are my goals:

1. No stinkin' walking!
2. Negative splits.
3. Under 27 minutes.

I'm going to achieve these goals by:

1. Running my race at my pace!!! This means a "7" should not be the leading number on my Garmin during the first or even second mile. By all means, if I have that in me at mile 3, I grant myself permission to run that fast. There are already over 1500 people registered for this 5k. It's going to feel like everyone is running past me and I will resist the temptation to keep up with them.
2.  Pace. Pace. Pace. My average pace needs to be 8:41 or less. I'm going to aim for 8:40 in mile 1 and a little faster from there until the finish line. If I'm feeling like a total badass and push for a sub-26 PR, my average pace would be 8:21. I don't have any business running faster than that early in the race. Save it and finish strong.
3. Push through the pain. Racing a 5k is different than finishing a half marathon. This is a speed challenge, not a distance challenge. It hurts in a different way. The good news is that it'll be over quickly and there will be french toast casserole at the end.

I'm going to share my babysitter with a friend and we'll ride to the 5k together. She'll be running faster than me. But, I'm hoping to see the couple from my run club and/or the girl from the running store social runs. Either one of them would be great partners to run with since we're all looking for a sub-27 time.