4 miles to warm up around the Lewis and Clark campus. I felt fine before the race--not great but not bad either. No complaints. I saw Dan Browne about 10 minutes before the start of the race as we were both warming up on the infield. I said "I'll be the first guy you pass so just let me know when you see me and I'll get out of your way." He laughed and wished me luck. Seemed like a nice guy. My goals going into the race were to A) smile and have fun, B) run even splits of 75/lap, C) enjoy the experience. I'm not certain, but it seemed like there were about 20-25 runners so I lined up on the outside of the second tier. The gun fired and soon I was near the back of the pack--perfect for what I wanted. I think I had one guy behind me is all, but I hung closely with 4 guys ahead of me through the first 5-6 laps. - 74
- 74
- 74
- 75 (4:57)
- 75
- 75
- 76
- 77 (5:04, 10:01)
I was very pleased with the first mile as it didn't feel hard, nor was it easy, but it did feel manageable. There was a bit of a headwind on the backstretch and I hesitated passing the 3 guys I was running with as we were now in no-mans land behind the elite runners (got lapped by them around the 2k mark) - 77
- 77
- 76
- 73 (5:05, 15:06)
- 34 (15:40)
Laps 8-10 were a bit of a disappointment as I fell of the pace a bit. It wasn't so much that I was getting tired or that my legs couldn't turn over faster--it seemed like my lungs just couldn't take the air in fast enough. But, no complaints. That feeling would go away if I ever did speed work. ;) I am pleased with my last 600 meters though. Final time was 15:40, a 17 second PR. I'd really like to run a 5K under 5:00/mile and I just missed it tonight (5:03/mile) but it's all good. I met my goal A & C of smiling, having fun and enjoying the experience. I'm not sure of my overall place but I'm guessing 20th out of 24. The winner was around 13:20. This was, without question, the most talented field I've ever raced against. It was a blast though and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. 1 mile cool down barefoot at the track and then 3 miles after getting home to work out the stiffness. Lunar (327)
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