Notes
I was planning on taking it easy during this race, since I'm pacing a friend the last 22 miles of a 50-mile ultra tomorrow. Well, I apparently don't have much discipline in short races. Went out at 7:00, backed off a bit during the middle, saw a young boy (as in, maybe 9 yrs old?) ahead of me at mile three and couldn't let him stay ahead of me (stupid ego). Then there was some guy I kept passing and getting passed by, so I finally had to pull ahead of him out of frustration. Then, with a quarter mile to go, I went by a guy who said "no, THAT'S not gonna happen!" Of course, I emptied my tank after hearing that and gave whatever I had left (6:45 last mile). After the finish, he thanked me for inspiring him to finish strong.
Compared to a lot of runners here (and I know I shouldn't do that), this isn't a fast time. But in checking my records, this is the first time I've paced sub-7 since 2002...and that was a 5k. It's actually the first race of 5 miles or longer that I've gone sub-7 since...1987! Given that I'm training for a marathon and doing very little speed work, I'm happy with the result.
BUT...I picked the wrong day, since (as I mentioned) I have a LONG job to do tomorrow. I hope the ice bath I just took will help my legs to recover just a bit extra for tomorrow's task. If not, I'm going to have a disappointed friend!