Notes
Super 5K out in Lowell. Did this race for the first time last year, so had a good idea of the course in advance. Did this race the day after an 18 miler and capping off an 80+ mile week, so knew I would be a little tired but figured I could still put out a good effort. Weather was chilly but not terrible. Opted for shorts, long sleeve shirt, hats, and gloves, which seemed to work well. Flurried most of the race, but pavement luckily was not slick.
Right out of the gate, Jake and a couple of other guys took off pretty fast. I held back to a pace I felt comfortable with, which I was hoping would be 5:10's but ended up being 5:15's. First mile and a half had a small pack with me, Sean, and Keefe. Going forward, may be worth seeing if we are able to work as a group to push through the tough spots. Not saying we shouldnt be racing, but at least utilize the pack during the early miles.
By the 2 mile mark, I saw that I was starting to fall off pace so made a concerted effort to stay focused and bear down. Third place in front of me (Whirlaway) seemed to be starting to tire slightly, so made a little move to catch him. Just didnt have enough to close the gap and by the time we hit the final turn, he gave a look behind and took off to extend the gap. Ended up 7 seconds from third. Would have loved to make a move sooner and try to pick him off, but just waited too long. Need to get better at making late pushes in races when I'm tired. Feel like I can put in a good kick when I'm close to someone, but when there's a 5-10 second gap, I dont have the same mental push.
Still ended up with another PR, so tough to complain when you run your fastest time, especially after a high mileage week. Jake had an amazing run finishing at 15:32, Keefe finished behind me taking 1st in his age division, and Sean was right behind Keefe.