Notes
Took an ice bath last night and got to bed around 11. Woke up today at 6, got ready, had a small bag of fruit snack, my standard 2 cups of coffee, and headed out around 6:45. Warmed up for about 12 minutes and met up with Jack, Lucas, Lyle, and my parents (my dad was also running.) The goal for today was to win after getting second last year. Around 7:55 we headed to the line for the national anthem, and the race went off at 8.
Right from the gun I was in first, which scared me a little because there were some fast looking people around. I eased up and let the first pack catch me. Two high schoolers from Marmion and one older guy. We grouped up and I was content to let them carry me through the first mile. The kid next to me had his watch beep at the mile and he saw me glance over at the noise. He asked me if I wanted to know the split, I said yeah. "5:28." Last year was much faster with a 5:12 first mile, and having run the 5K a few months ago at 5:07 pace, I decided to speed up and leave the pack. I dropped the hammer on mile 2 and moved into first. I don't have splits, but I definitely sped up a little. Its an out and back, so when I got to the turnaround I could see I was about 10 meters in front of second. Too close for comfort. So I sped up again. Got some high fives from Lucas, Lyle, Jack, and my dad. Everyone was cheering for me, so it was nice mentally. Mile 4, the wheels started to fall off. The flats were rubbing into my achilles and I could feel blister forming. There were a few hills and those coupled with having to run alone in the heat was taking its toll. My average pace was 5:27, which means I must've slowed down a fair amount. I finished in first with a 22 second PR, and its my first time winning this race after 6 years, so I'm very happy. But I need to get faster for cross. I know its July in the middle of a training block, but I know I still have some work to do.