Notes
Uncertified 5k course that turned out a bit short. My real 5k time if I held that pace would have been around 21:36. My goal time was 21:31. Since I sprinted at the end, perhaps I could have reached the goal time if the additional .13 miles were at the finishing pace. There was a small hill right at the end, so I certainly could have sprinted longer if there were a longer level stretch before the finish. Anyway, I got second in the 30-39 age group, because it was such a small race. The guy who got first was 30 and finished just under 20 minutes. I'm glad I resisted the urge to run faster during the first mile, because it soon became really difficult to hold on. I aimed at 6:55 in the first mile and planned either to speed up if I had it in me or to try to hold on and at least keep it under 7:00. I held on for mile 2, though it was already getting tough. During mile 3 I really felt bad and nearly slowed down more while going up a small hill, until I saw the finish line probably just over half a mile away. If there were a longer level stretch before the finish, I'm convinced that I could have brought the mile 3 pace back under 7:00 with my final kick. Still, I clearly faded during mile 3, though not really bad. I achieved my main goals, though, which were 1) not to start out too fast (but rather to run mile 1 around 6:55), and 2) to keep my average pace under 7:00. I'd be happier if the distance were really 5k and if mile 3 were under a 7:00 pace, though.