Notes
The 32nd annual Elmer's Taco Trot. Very informal, no cost, word of mouth race that starts at high noon on Wednesday before Thanksgiving and you race around the lake (10 miles, mostly trail surface). They hand you a popsicle stick as you cross the finish line to keep track of placement. My goal was to play it more like a tempo run and not to breathe hard until the last few miles. I ran with Colin and Lori (lead female) for most of the first 7 miles as the leader slowly came back to us, putting in most miles in the mid to upper 6:00s and it felt somewhat easy. At the Rock (mile 7.5ish) I decided to go a little faster and see what happened. The group splintered with me in the lead and the previous leader (and multi-year defending champion) right on my tail. I soon realized I had played my kick a little early and really didn't have another one left so just hoped the guy on my tail didn't either. I was wrong. 100 yards out from the finish on an uphill, this guy flew up like it was nothing and passed me. I chased after him but ran out of room before I could catch him. 2nd place by seconds. It was a great race though - closing miles were 6:16 and 6:01. Probably pushed it a little too much for my original plan but it sure was fun.