Notes
Arrived with almost 2 hours to go before the race, probably more than I've given myself before most races since college. Got to chill, massage gun, and warm up with no rush. At first I thought I'd end up being our 5th scorer but Tom arrived on the late side and took the pressure off. Felt good warming up and was glad to see that the course wasn't too wet. On the starting line, I wasn't feeling too jazzed about racing, but once I was a few minutes in I was enjoying it. I wanted to have fun and run hard but not stress, and once I was racing I was able to do that. I ran the first half mile fairly conservatively, slowly moving up before going into the woods up the hill. I passed 1-2 guys on the hill and then a couple more on the aqueduct. One, an older guy who looked in his 60s at least, passed me going down the steep section but I got him back right away and didn't see him again. I tried to finish pretty strong and was able to pass someone in the last 1/4 mile. I ended up around 20s back from Tom, which was closer than I expected but I don't think he had a great day/prep for this.