Notes
Slow start. Started at what I figured would be an appropriate spot on the starting line, but ended up not crossing the line for apparently 10 seconds and then fighting through heavy traffic after that. A lot of people towards the front that should not have been there. It took probably a full mile to get to a point where I was around similarly-skilled runners. 5:43 on the 1 mile clock but using my chip time really like 5:33. No time for 2nd mile but my 3, 4, and 5 mile splits show a pretty even race. It felt even split too. Once I finally worked my way up past the slow people I kept gradually upping the effort and passing people when I could. A lot of consistent people were around me in the race so I stayed with a lot of people for a while. It was nice to have more or less a pack to go with. Good honest race effort and landed right where I've been for my previous fall/winter 5-mile races.
Overall pretty happy. Surprised that the long run didn't affect me, didn't notice it at all it just felt like a normal race. Maybe I could have ran faster but I honestly doubt it made a difference. Feels good to race again and since it's been a month and a half since I last raced I'm also happy I didn't feel rusty. Racing comes so natural. Weird how with how slow I am right now comparatively racing still feels the same. Will keep the consistency going, keep the long runs going and I should be set for a BQ come April.