Notes
Dan Huston 8k. I went in with a little bit of confidence after last week but was also planning on just working into it. It was a little windy but not nearly as bad as last year. The race got out well and I was on the outside pretty far up feeling good. Then we settled into a pretty slow pace. I stayed tucked in this year and we went through the mile 5:25. I went to the front of the main pack (3 guys were off the front) shortly after that but didn't really pick up the pace. I debated trying to jump away since no one would probably care about an unattached runner but I think part of me was enjoying the slower pace. The 2nd mile wasn't much faster as we right around 10:50. I continued to lead the 3rd mile with Bennett Moser right beside me but nothing really happened until right before the 3 mile. Probably a quarter mile before the 3 mile Bennett started to move. I knew this was coming so I jumped on the increased pace. Wartburg's pack was there too so I knew I wanted to stay with them. The 3 mile must have been slightly faster but I didn't hear a split (16:10 maybe). Bennett and an ISU run club guy started to pull away during the 4th mile and I was content to let that happen. Wartburg's 2-5 was in the next pack I decided to focus on staying with them. The last 2 miles were definitely tough and I was struggling to get deep breaths (I'm hoping that was just due to some congestion). We hit the 4 mile around 21:20-21:25 I think. At this point the big pack we had at the 3 mile mark had busted apart. It looked like we were pretty clear of anyone behind us and I tried to focus on beating my pack at the end. We ran together on the long stretch before the finish and as we made the turn Ryan Hermsan jumped off the front. I was starting to think about waiting until closer to the finish to kick but I decided to chase him. I felt like I was chasing really well but didn't bring him back much at all. With about 100m to go Eli Kackzinski came back on me and I had to give it everything I had to get him at the line. I think we still lost ground to Hermsan during that time. Overall I was 7th place in a decent field but definitely not a stacked team race. I think Wartburg ended up putting 7 in front of St Thomas's 1 (After checking their website, it looks like St Thomas didn't run their top 5). I was hoping to run a little faster but feel like I raced well. The guys I finished with all ran 25:25 at Augustana last weekend which made me feel good as well.