Notes
Splits that I caught/remember - 86, 2:25-6, 5:50 at the mile, 10:04 or so at 400 to go (I was lapped once, but only by the first place person!). Yes, this is back to back to back PRs in the last three races for me and only one of those is because I didn't have a PR yet for the distance/time. (Technically, I've run something like 10:30 for this as a split in a track 10k senior year - and I'm pretty sure that NEWMACs had a faster split).
Race Notes:
1) Wow, 17 people on the line is a whole bunch. Even with the kids taking the second row, there was a lot of people in this race. Again, I was starting in 5 or 6, so around the edge of lane 4/5. Everyone was pretty clean at the start, which is nice.
2) Going through the first lap, I was definitely feeling like this was a little spicy - I had expected to be going around 12 flat (which is... wildly unoptimistic in hindsight). I pulled back a little bit, but I also had done the math and knew that 86-87 would put me in line for a PR, which is always nice.
3) Around 1200 in, I noticed that there was a guy in a grey shirt about 70-75 meters ahead. (I think he doubled as well, but I'm not sure.) At that point, I was cruising around 87-88, figuring that he'd be away and go something like 11:20 low, forgetting/not realizing he was in high school.
4) At the mile, I was feeling solid enough to try a bit of acceleration - also noticing that grey shirt was fading. Not a lot, but enough that I was closing the gap by 10 meters a lap or so. This is where experience is very useful - chasing is my jam.
5) I caught grey shirt with about 500 to go and the leader caught us about 50 meters later (or thereabouts). I knew going in that I would be lapped; there was a sub 10 seed time and a few low 10 seed times. I was a little surprised to only see the leader, but I did go significantly ahead of what I was expecting - winner had 9:57, second was 10:20 in a pack of three.
6) I was struggling a bit through the penultimate turn, but the wheels are still there, just rusty. Ended up catching the winning woman (aka the only woman) with about 125 to go and just tried to surge smoothly for the final bit to get as much as possible.
Verdict - I really like 3200s in outdoor. The 3K indoor is okay, but indoor tracks are awful. This was fun and I definitely should run more track meets if I can find them - the environment is just nice at a community meet. I think I miss running with people more than I realize.