Notes
Started at 5:50 (too fast) per the Garmin, so I slowed and noticed someone (Matt) who appeared to be in my age group. He said he was 46 and has run for 35 years, starting when he was 11. I figured he and I were leading our division at this point, not realizing that Scott Jordan was up ahead. My goal was to run with the leader in my division and pass him at the end, so I was content with a first mile pace of 6:08. It also allowed for some conversation, which is rare for me during a race, but then again I wasn't really racing (for a PR). I'll plan to do this more often, as it was fun.
Early into the second mile I noticed the Garmin showed a pace of 6:31, so I said my good bye to Matt and tried to get back to my first mile pace. To my surprise, I saw a young woman (Carly) who was cruising with ease. She became my pacer. I started chatting with her, although she was racing and only would say (in response to my question) that she ran for USM (where I later learned she graduated last year) and was shooting for 18:36. I told her if that was her plan, she would be finishing fast. She sped up and I followed. We came up to a few guys somewhere around the second mile marker or into the third mile, and a flagger said we were the third group to pass her. Turns out the first two "groups" were Mick and Scott.
Carly and I caught up to Scott just before the 3-mile mark, as we turned onto Bennett Street. At the corner of North Street (the finishing stretch) I passed Carly and Scott on the outside and continued to accelerate. I was sure I would not give up second place. Three times I looked back, and each time I was surprised to see that I was not separating from Scott. I sped up as much as I could safely (not wanting to injure myself) and also felt that I was maxed out as Scott passed me within 100 feet of the finish. At this point I slowed, realizing that I had plenty of separation from Carly to finish safely in third place.
Overall, I'm pleased, but I'm not happy that I was out-kicked at the end. It's actually a good thing though, as now I have some unfinished business!