Notes
Not sure what I should have expected out of this run, but I'm definitely not happy with my time. Should I be happier with 19:26 coming off a brutal week on a flat, dirt course? Who knows. But, I am happy with third overall, which is the highest I've ever placed. Consider that 1st and 2nd's ages add up to mine, even better.
This was a very lonely course. I like the location for running but it's not an ideal race location. Felt a lot like Palo Alto marshlands but that race had more people.
First quarter or so was way too fast. Like 5:00 fast. The leader jumped out very quickly and dragged a few of us along. Interestingly, the top 5 or so were decided within the first 10 meters. I was in third by then and that never changed. The guy behind me stuck right on my shoulder for about 1.5 miles but then fell way off the pace and finished probably a minute back. 2nd place gapped me very quickly and I spent most of the race reeling him in, but he had a strong last half mile or so and pulled away. In some ways, this was a mentally weak race as I could tell I'd be able to maintain third and I think maybe if I'd forced myself to suffer I could have gotten 2nd. But I was closing the gap pretty good up until about 2.75 miles. He probably beat me by 15 seconds.
1/2 Splits (all but first were dirt). Garmin measured 3.12, so splits are pretty close to accurate.
2:53
3:10
3:12
3:11
3:07
3:06
@6:07 pace for .1