I wasn't sure if I'd be able to work in a 4th of July race, but schedules worked out. The one race that wasn't full was a YMCA fund raiser race that had a mix of some fast runners without being a completely serious event. I was expecting to get under 20, and hopefully closer to 19 minutes. It turns out a bunch of teammates were also doing it (ok, maybe I'll have to go harder now). After a good warmup, we lined up and off we go. I went from the second row to about 30th place within about 20 feet. At the quarter-mile it thinned out and some fast starters realized they may want to ease back a bit. I passed a few, but concentrated on breathing and staying relaxed. The first mile was under 6, but not sure by how much. The runners ahead of me were strung out so that I could only see few. I passed two more runners that were fading. I could hear somebody gaining on me though. He stayed behind me for a while, matching my pace. The second mile seemed to take forever, but I always feel that way. I resisted glancing back to see who or how many were behind. Not sure what the time was for mile two, but if felt slower. The runner behind me came by with less than a mile left and wanted me to pick it up with him. I couldn't jump at that point, but stayed within 20 feet or so. With 250 to go, I thought I'd pour it on and blow by him. It turns out I was at max speed already and only closed it to ten feet. Here is the weird part. My time was 18:35, tying my 5K PR to the second. And, out of four races this year, I PRed in two and tied my PR in the other two. I'm sure odd coincidences happen, but I couldn't have done it if I were trying. Just leaning into it I would have gotten a different time. One tip that did help was to review the last mile of the course. When finishing a race it is great to be able to gage your energy and pacing to match what is left. If you don't know the finish, you are more likely to blow up or have left over. In this race I needed to know as I was on the verge of blowing up the entire last mile. Final stats: Time 18:35 (5:59) Overall: 20th out of ~350 Div: 3rd out of 64 (at the race I was listed as 4th, so I left without hardware :-P ) Heart rate: 161avg 175mx

Two PRs and two PR ties in four races is amazing! Congrats on a great effort, your AG placement (even if you didn't stick around for the hardware), and on the PR tie. Good advice to know what to expect in the last mile of a race course so you can make sure you got what it takes to deal with the terrain and still finish strong. Jay

One tip that did help was to review the last mile of the course. When finishing a race it is great to be able to gage your energy and pacing to match what is left. If you don't know the finish, you are more likely to blow up or have left over.

Nice tip, Busiman, and congratulations on the PR!

Excellent race and spooky time!