Hello, all.  I'm still pretty new at all of this.

Short version:  Chill on the Hill 5K in St. Louis on Saturday.  I ran a 22:54, which is a PR by 28 seconds, but it was only my second race, so it's not as hard to PR when you only have one number to beat.  I finished 20th out of 277 runners, 5th among the M30-39.

Long version:  The Hill is the very, very Italian neighborhood in St. Louis.  It was home to Yogi Berra, Joe Garagiola, and about half of the U.S. soccer team that beat England in the 1950 World Cup tournament.  It has a great community spirit, which is good for a local 5K, but as you can tell from the name of the neighborhood, it's not the flattest course. 

It was unseasonably warm for December, being in the 50s, but still nice.  The run started at the historic St. Ambrose Church, and their church gym was the location for the coffee, water, and snacks (and Schlafly Beer afterward) and the awards ceremony.  

I learned in my first race to line up a little closer to the front, and that helped, especially as the finish line had a sensor for the timing chip, but the start was at the other end of the block, so it was all by gun time.  

The ultimate sign of how dedicated I was to posting a good time?  For the first half mile or so I was behind a very attractive woman wearing an incredibly flattering pair of running tights, but as I found my stride, I had to sacrifice scenery for speed and I passed her.  

In the end, I finished 20th with a 22:54, which was good for 5th in the M30-39 group.  I was over four minutes behind the age group leader, but only two seconds behind the 4th place 30-39, so that's pretty encouraging for moving up in future races.  Overall, very happy with the new PR to beat.  

"I had to sacrifice scenery for speed..."  That. Was. Awesome. 

What a great race!  Holy smokes - you placed 20th overall in only your second race ever!  How amazing is that????  You put up a darn good time too!!!  Fast!  Congratulations on a fantastic race!

Thanks, guys.