Notes
New Personal Best for a 10K (old was 36:46). This was, and might still be my weakest PR. But hey, and PR is a PR.
Physically, I knew this was going to be a bit tough. My calves have been struggling since Lake Winnie. However, I knew I could still PR (for the first time since Yankee Homecoming 10 miler - July, 2011 just before my accident). Lately, I have felt my mental game slipping as well as my conditioning. I used to be always able to rely on racing well for my fitness, and being gritty, but lately I've felt like I've been soft. Either going out to fast, or caving when things hurt.
My main goal was to get around that. Run an even race (5K splits were 17:59 and 18:04), push through the pain, and when it's time to kick, kick. I easily met the first two, but had trouble finding the next gear over the last mile. Still need to work on that.
Started out with EJ and Bradley. Hung with them for the first 2 miles or so. There were a few times when EJ picked it up and I rightfully made the decision to go with him. I started coming alive around 2, and slowly upped the effort (not sure, but I think the second half was more uphill then the first, but not sure - still relatively flat).
Felt like I was on cruise control until mile 5, when things started to hurt a bit. Did a good job of keeping up the pace. However, around 5.5 I should have been able to start opening it up, and felt reluctant to do so. I need to work on that, I know I have the speed for a 800 - 1200 kick.