Notes
Official time 18:56.5. Dew point 64, so humid but a bit less so than it has been recently. Unusual course. First two miles were net downhill and then it was mostly uphill. The first mile was mostly flat with some slight downhills and one steeper downhill. I ran it precisely at my target pace (5:57), which didn't feel especially fast. The second mile had two steep downhills, one of which was fairly long; and, I think, no uphills. At some point during the second mile I realized that what goes down so much must come back up, so I started letting myself coast downhill faster than my target pace. The third mile included a turn-around and was pretty much all slightly uphill; and then there was a short, steep uphill at the very end. It was clear that I wasn't going to be able to stay sub-6 in the third mile, but I hung on as well as I possibly could have. The steeper uphill at the end really slowed me down, but when I rounded the final turn and saw the clock around 18:40 I gave it all I had left. On such a course, I think I could have finished 15-20 seconds faster by coasting faster in the first mile like I did in the second, and by maybe going still faster in the second mile. The third mile on this course is going to be slower no matter what, but I think going a bit faster before then wouldn't make the third mile slower than it would be anyway. Still, that was a PR by 2-3 seconds, and I'm satisfied that I didn't wimp out at any point today.